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Theoretical physicist Tobias Dornheim, PhD of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf has been awarded the Stanislaw Lem European Science Prize (Lem Prize) for 2024.
The International Prize Committee, chaired by Professor Maciej Lewenstein (ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Barcelona), recognised his project “Model-free diagnostics of extreme states of matter in the imaginary time” dedicated to the study of warm dense matter and high energy density physics. He received a prestigious ERC Starting Grant for it.
– Tobias Dornheim's work introduces a new method for analysing extreme states of matter, such as those found inside planets or in fusion energy experiments, without relying on error-prone models, said Prof Arkadiusz Wójs, Rector of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology.
By using “imaginary time” analysis of X-ray data, scientists can now accurately measure temperatures and other properties. This technique has been adopted at major experimental centres, including the US National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, as well as Germany's European X-Ray Free Electron Laser and Japan's SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free Electron Laser.
– In addition, the laureate is involved in the interpretation and analysis of X-ray scattering, diagnostics of warm dense matter experiments and the design of new experimental systems, the Rector of Wrocław Tech added.
The statuette was presented at a ceremony in the H-14 building, and Tobias Dornheim, PhD also gave a lecture entitled “Towards a new era for warm dense matter diagnostics”.
– I would like to thank the prize committee for recognising my research and the opportunity to present it today. It is a great honour and a distinction that will stay with me throughout my scientific career – Tobias Dornheim, PhD said.
The statuette presented at the ceremony is the author's idea and was made by Professor Przemysław Tyszkiewicz.
Founders and partners of the Lem Prize 2024: PCC Rokita S.A., KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., PKO Bank Polski S.A., Impel Group, Fundacja PKO Banku Polskiego, BERGMAN Engineering sp. z o. o.
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The Lem Prize, worth 100,000 PLN, has been awarded at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology since 2021. It is awarded to young scientists (up to 40 years of age) studying or conducting research in the European Union and associated countries.
The international chapter, chaired by Prof. Maciej Lewenstein (ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Barcelona), evaluates their recent discovery or significant achievement in broad areas of science and engineering, with strong elements of technology, interdisciplinarity, creativity and vision.
The first winner in 2021 was genetic engineering expert Prof Randall J. Platt from the ETH Zurich,a year later, the award went to Professor Samuel Stranks of Cambridge University, a specialist in optoelectronics, and Lem Prize 2023 was awarded to experimental physicist Prof Ido Kaminer from Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
About Tobias Dornheim, PhD
He obtained his PhD in 2018 at the Christian-Albrechts university in Kiel, Germany, in theoretical physics focusing on ab initio path integral Monte Carlo simulations of interacting electrons. In 2019, he joined the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), where he leads the Frontiers of Computational Quantum Many-Body Theory Group since 2022.
Tobias Dornheim is a young and award-winning researcher. For his PhD thesis, he was awarded the Best Thesis award of the Natural Sciences College (Fakultät) of Kiel University and also the Nano Physics Award of the University’s Research Focus KiNSIS. He received the Young Researcher Award of the Association of Asian-Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS), Division of Plasma Physics in 2018.
In 2021 he received the John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research of the American Physical Society, “for developing Monte Carlo methods that overcome the fermion sign problem, leading to the first ab initio data for an electron gas under warm dense matter conditions”. His international recognition is also manifested in several prestigious research grants.
