Victor Malka awarded the 2017 Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics

Plasma physicist recognized for pioneering research in the field of laser plasma acceleration

Heidelberg | New York, 5 April 2017

This year’s Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics will be awarded to Victor Malka (École Polytechnique Palaiseau/Weizmann Institute) for his outstanding research in laser plasma acceleration. The award, which includes US$ 5,000, will be presented at the Magnus-Haus in Berlin, Germany, on 20 April 2017, and will be accompanied by a public lecture given by the scientist.

Victor Malka has pioneered the field of laser plasma acceleration (LPA). He has demonstrated that when the quiver motion of relativistic electrons is controlled, intense and bright electron and X-ray beams can be produced in a compact and elegant way. He has also promoted applications of LPA which have an impact on our society. These include advanced radiotherapy in medicine, compact gamma-ray sources for security, and coherent X-ray sources for the imaging method known as phase contrast imaging.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Victor Malka received his Ph.D. degree in atomic and plasma physics at the École Polytechnique, University of Paris-Saclay in Palaiseau, France. He worked as a CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) researcher at the same institute. There he became research director of the Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée in 2004. In October 2015, he also took on a professorship at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. Malka has published more than 210 articles in refereed journals and has given more than 160 invited talks at international conferences. 

The Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics recognizes researchers who have made an outstanding and innovative contribution to the field of applied physics. It has been awarded annually since 1998 by the editors-in-chief of the Springer journals Applied Physics A – Materials Science & Processing and Applied Physics B – Lasers and Optics.

The award will be presented to Victor Malka at the DPG Magnus-Haus, Am Kupfergraben 7, Berlin, Germany, at 6.30 pm on April 20, 2017. 

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Photo credits: ©École Polytechnique - Ph. Lavialle (portrait)  ©LOA - A. Lifschitz (Laser Wakefield Accelerator