2014 ICTP Prize Recipient Announced

ICTP has awarded its 2014 ICTP Prize to Pablo S. Cornaglia, a condensed matter physicist from Argentina. Cornaglia, who is currently a CONICET (the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Argentina) scientist at the Bariloche Atomic Center, Argentina, works on topics in solid state theory, including strongly correlated electron systems, electronic transport through nanostructures, and problems on graphene, molecular transistors, and quantum impurity.

Cornaglia's research has led to a better understanding of how interactions between electrons and quasiparticles known as phonons affect certain properties in solids and nanosystems. His work related to the Kondo effect (the unusual scattering mechanism of electrons in metals due to magnetic impurities) is considered especially important.

After getting his masters and PhD degrees in Argentina, Cornaglia went on to pursue postdoctoral positions in France at Commissariat à l'énergie atomique - Saclay and École Polytechnique; he returned to Argentina in 2006. The ICTP Prize not only recognises Cornaglia's contributions to physics but also his role in connecting theory groups in Latin America and Europe and his mentoring of students in his home country.

The ICTP Prize was created in 1982. It recognizes young scientists (under 40) from developing countries who work and live in those countries and who have made outstanding and original contributions to physics or mathematics. The prize includes a sculpture, certificate and a cash award of €3,000. For further details, see the ICTP Prize webpage.

Each year, the ICTP Prize is given in honour of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the field in which the prize is given. The 2014 ICTP Prize honours Jacques Friedel, a leading theoretical condensed matter physicist who made rich contributions to various branches of solid state physics and was a supporter of condensed matter activities at ICTP in its early days.