Athens, Ga. – David P. Landau, distinguished research professor of physics at the University of Georgia, has been named winner of the 2007 Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach by the American Physical Society.
The award is presented annually to recognize the humanitarian aspect of physics and physicists. Recognition consists of the Nicholson Medal, a certificate and up to $1,500 for travel expenses to the meeting at which the medal will be presented.
Landau received the award for his internationally recognized work in computational physics and his creation and leadership of the UGA Center for Simulational Physics which “has had great success in educating young scientists from many countries in computer simulations.”
The award is given in general to a physicist who “has demonstrated a particularly giving and caring relationship as a mentor to students or colleagues or has succeeded in motivating interest in physics through inspiring educational works.” It also may be given to a physicist who “has created special opportunities that inspire the scientific development of students or junior colleagues or has developed programs for students at any level that facilitated positive career choices in physics.”
Landau received a B.A. in physics from Princeton University in 1963 and a Ph.D. in physics from Yale University in 1967. After a postdoctoral year in Grenoble and a year as a lecturer at Yale University, he moved to the University of Georgia. His research involves computer simulations, and he has been featured in publications from Physical Review Letters to The New York Times.
He has been awarded the Jesse Beams medal for outstanding research and the Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics. As tangible recognition of his outreach efforts he has been named an adjunct professor at Helsinki University of Technology in Finland and the Senior Guangbiao Distinguished Professor at Zhejiang University in China.
He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has been named an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, an Alexander von Humboldt Senior U.S. Scientist, a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and a Fellow, Institute of Physics (London).
In addition, Landau has received the Creative Research Medal from UGA.
