by Caitlin V. Reidy (COM’24)
College of Arts & Sciences Professors of Physics Anatoli Polkovikov and Martin Schmaltz recently received American Physical Society (APS) Fellowships after going beyond the usual threshold in the scientific community with their research and contributions to their field.
It is a rare occurrence to have two professors from the same university program receive APS Fellowships within a few months of each other. Schmaltz was nominated and received his award for his theories for particle physics beyond the standard model, and their implications for cosmology, flavor physics, and electroweak symmetry breaking. The standard model refers to how the basic atoms, or building blocks of matter interact with each other.
Particle physics involves the basic matter that everything is made of, according to Schmaltz. Physicists use cosmology to predict how the early universe was constructed before planets, stars, moons, and galaxies.
“I am very pleased to have received this honor from my peers as a recognition of my contributions to theoretical particle physics and cosmology,” Schmaltz said.
Polkovinikov was judged based on his research work on dynamics of the many-particle quantum system that had sufficient impact on the physics community. This refers to a large number of particles that interact with each other and must be analyzed as a whole.
“I am very grateful to my nominators as well as to the voting members of the APS who thought that I deserve this honor,” Polkovinikov said.
The APS Fellowship, is a peer-nominated, prestigious award that goes through a substantial nomination process based on achievements in physics, number of fellows, and categories of recognition.