#Product Trends
Pfeiffer Vacuum Welcomes 2014 Röntgen Prize Winner
Vacuum is essential for basic scientific research
Asslar, Germany, November 21, 2014. This year, the Justus Liebig University
Giessen is awarding its Röntgen Prize to Prof. Dr. Jörg Evers. The Röntgen
Prize is awarded each year for outstanding work on basic research into
radiation physics and radiation biology. Named in memory of Wilhelm Conrad
Röntgen, who was a professor in Giessen from 1879 to 1888, the award
primarily targets the work of young scientists. The prize is donated by Pfeiffer
Vacuum, the Dr. Erich Pfeiffer Foundation and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation.
This year''s winner, Prof. Dr. Evers, is currently a team leader at the Max Planck
Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. He is receiving the award for his
theoretical prediction of potential realization of the coherent superposition of
quantum states in atoms. This prediction was confirmed in an experiment
conducted on the PETRA III storage ring at DESY in Hamburg. Petra III offers
scientists excellent experimental facilities with its powerful light source. The
attempt was realized on thin-layer preparations, with a 0.6 nm thin layer of iron
cores between layers of carbon and palladium. The experiment included the
use of Mössbauer spectroscopy, which was awarded the Röntgen and the
Nobel prize in 1961.
A typical application for these research findings is the potential use in quantum
computers in the field of quantum information technology. Since typical
quantum phenomena such as coherent superposition of states is extremely
susceptible to disturbance, they only manifest under ideal laboratory conditions,
i.e. under vacuum.
Manfred Bender, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, congratulated the
prize winner: “Supporting young scientists in cutting-edge research is extremely
important to us“, explained Bender. “Many research facilities have been a
partner to Pfeiffer Vacuum for many years now. Our vacuum solutions are used
successfully at DESY and we are pleased that Prof. Dr. Evers was able to
confirm his theoretical assumptions there.“
The day before the prize was awarded at the Justus Liebig University Giessen,
the prize winner visited the sponsoring company Pfeiffer Vacuum and reported
on the results of his research.