Two String Theorists Awarded Dirac Medal

Two British researchers, Peter Goddard of the University of Cambridge and David Ian Olive of University College of Swansea (United Kingdom), have won the 1997 ICTP Dirac Medal. The award, established in 1985, carries a $5,000 cash prize.

The Dirac award has again been granted to scientists who have conducted pioneer research in string theory. Goddard and Olive were nominated for the Dirac Award by Edward Witten of Princeton University, a 1985 Dirac Medal winner and now a member of the selection committee. Last year, Time named Witten as one of America's 25 most influential people.

And the Winner Is...

Arun M. Jayannavar, Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Physics in Bhubaneswar, India, is the winner of the 1996 ICTP Prize. His field is solid state physics. This year, the ICTP Prize was given in honour of the late Sir Nevill Mott, who won the Nobel Prize in 1979 for his work on "glassy" semiconducting materials.

Jayannavar received his bachelor and master of science degrees from Kamatak University in Dharwar, India, in the mid 1970s, and his doctorate degree from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, in 1982.

New Home for ICTP Staff

About 70 of ICTP's staff members moved into the Centre's newest facility, the Enrico Fermi Building (EFB), last January. The two-storey, cement-cast building, with a copper-coloured aluminium façade, sits just above the Centre's Main Building. The structure houses ICTP's main administrative services, including personnel and visa offices, as well as a bank, travel agency and insurance facility. Staff from the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and ICTP's Physics of Weather and Climate Laboratory also reside at EFB. The move has opened additional space in the ICTP's Main Building for scientists and research support staff.

TRIBUTES

Juan Jose Giambiagi passed away in Rio de Janeiro on January 8, 1996. Giambiagi, who was a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Buenos Aires at the time of his death, is best known as the guiding light behind Argentina's "golden age" of science, which prevailed from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s. A charismatic leader, Giambiagi helped an entire generation of young physicists in Argentina, including ICTP's current Director, Miguel Virasoro, gain international recognition for their work. Giambiagi was an early Associate of the ICTP and later served as a member of the Centre's Scientific Council.

Claudio Villi, a theoretical physicist and former President of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), died on December 18, 1996. Born in Trieste, Villi was Professor of Physics at the University of Padua. He was a strong proponent of nuclear physics research in Italy, a senator in the Italian Parliament and a key figure both in the creation of the ICTP and the decision to house the Centre in Trieste.

Maurizio Zifferero, former Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), died in Rome on June 20, 1997. He was a long-time point of contact for the ICTP at IAEA. Zifferero gained worldwide recognition as leader of a United Nations team of experts who were responsible for inspecting Iraq's nuclear and biological facilities after the Gulf War in 1991.

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