From left to right: Eckhard Elsen, chair of the prize committee, Kerstin Tackmann (Bjørn H. Wiik Prize 2012. She was honoured for her contributions to the Higgs particle discovery in the ATLAS detector at the LHC), Ralf Röhlsberger (Bjørn H. Wiik Prize 2013) and Margret Becker-Wiik, wife of Bjørn Wiik.
Ralf Röhlsberger was awarded the Wiik Prize for his fundamental quantum mechanical experiments with X-rays, which he mainly carried out at the most brilliant synchrotron radiation source PETRA III. To observe for example the electromagnetically induced transparency, he uses a platinum cavity with the size of one nanometre to induce single iron atoms to cooperative emission, and he makes use of experimental methods deriving from Mössbauer spectroscopy. The novel measuring procedure opens up manifold possibilities for additional experiments, e.g. in quantum information technology.
Every two to three years the Bjørn H. Wiik Prize is awarded to younger scientists and engineers for outstanding contributions to DESY’s research programme or for technical developments that notably advance projects at DESY. The award is endowed with 3000 €. It is funded from the proceeds of donations collected in 1999 to acknowledge Bjørn H. Wiik’s lifetime achievements.
(from DESY news)
