Professor of Physics Humphrey Maris will receive the 2011 Fritz London Memorial Prize at the 26th International Conference on Low Temperature Physics for developing a method to track the activity of a single electron in liquid helium.
The prize, first awarded in 1957, is given to scientists who have made significant accomplishments in low temperature physics. Maris will travel to Beijing in August to accept the prize at the conference's opening ceremonies.
"It's an outstanding award," said James Valles, professor of physics and chair of the department, adding that Maris is receiving this award for "career achievement in the field."
Maris's group began studying the motion of electrons in liquid helium about 10 years ago.
Special chemical properties cause electrons in helium to form extremely small "electron bubbles," Maris said. When sound pulses from an ultrasonic transducer are used to create a negative pressure environment, the bubbles expand to the point where they become large enough to be imaged. As a result, their individual positions can be recorded.
"Liquid helium is an amazing substance," said Maris, adding that it is interesting to "understand electron bubbles" and how they move through liquid.
Maris and his group first made a video of the motion of a single electron in 2006.
"It's interesting to be able to visualize something that is so small and yet an important part of matter," Maris wrote in an email to The Herald. He said tracking the motion of electrons could lead to development of a "quantum computer," which is more powerful than current computers.
He is receiving the prize primarily for his video of an electron, but he has also conducted notable research in other areas during his career at Brown and other institutions.
The award brings great visibility to the physics department, Valles said. Maris "has been creating results that have been turning heads for over 40 years. People always want to hear him talk," he said.
