This award recognizes a living individual for a career of meritorious achievements and outstanding technical contributions by a living individual in the field of applied superconductivity and will recognize individuals for contributions in the field over a period of time (nominally more than twenty years) based on novel and innovative concepts proposed by the individual, the authorship or co-authorship of a number of publications of major significance to the field of applied superconductivity, and the presentation of a number of invited and plenary talks at major national and international conferences and meetings in applied superconductivity, including the Applied Superconductivity Conference.

Prize:
The Award shall consist of the following: (1) a medallion fabricated from niobium, at least six centimeters in diameter and suitably engraved; (2) a suitably inscribed plaque; and, (3) an honorarium of US$ 5,000.
Funding:
IEEE Council on Superconductivity
Presentation:
Awardees will be recognized during a ceremony at an applied superconductivity conference.
Basis for Judgement:
Individuals will be judged for contributions in the field of applied superconductivity over a period of time (nominally more than twenty years) based on novel and innovative concepts proposed by the individual, the authorship or co-authorship of a number of publications of major significance to the field of applied superconductivity and the presentation of a number of invited and plenary talks at major national and international conferences and meetings in applied superconductivity.
Nomination Details:

Nominations of candidates for the IEEE Council on Superconductivity Awards can be made by any member of the applied superconductivity community (defined as anyone who has attended at least five previous international conferences on applied superconductivity). Members of the Awards Committee may also nominate candidates for the Award.

The nomination documentation shall consist of a nomination letter, a detailed curriculum vitae (CV) and completed Nomination Form. The CV should contain detailed contact information for the candidate, the candidate’s educational and employment background, a list of honors, awards and other recognitions (both from IEEE and other organizations) that the candidate has received, and a list of his professional duties that document the role the candidate has played in advancing the science, technology, and commercialization of applied superconductivity. The Nominator must also complete an IEEE CSC Award Nomination Form by identifying three (or four) major contributions the candidate has made toward the advancement of applied superconductivity and describe the impact of these significant scientific, technological or management accomplishments have had on the field of applied superconductivity. The Nomination Form can be downloaded from the links below.  In each link, the contact information for the Chair of the CSC Awards Committee is also provided.

The Nomination Form and CV must be accompanied by at least three (but not more than six) endorsements from other members of the applied superconductivity (defined as anyone who has attended at least five previous international conferences on applied superconductivity). The endorsements can be made by sending a separate letter of support; citing the name of the candidate and the name of the Nominator (preferred by committee), or by co-signing the cover letter accompanying the Nomination Form.

The Chair of the Awards Committee must receive the nomination letter and the letters of endorsement no later than 11:59 PM  (UTC) on February 28th of the year in which an applied superconductivity conference is held (unless extension announced). Nominations are submitted to [email protected].

For further information on the Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity Award, contact:

Joseph Minervini
Chair, Technical & Service Awards Committee
IEEE Council on Superconductivity
[email protected]

Award Recipients

Dan Prober

Daniel Prober

2018 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductive electronics, in particular:

for pioneering work on SIS quasiparticle mixers, including the first demonstration of detector sensitivity approaching the quantum limit;
for inventing the diffusion-cooled hot electron bolometer, a high sensitivity and large-bandwidth superconducting heterodyne mixer;
for advancements in nanofabrication that have been used to develop ultra-sensitive devices based on superconducting nanostructures; and
for fundamental studies of noise in mesoscopic superconducting systems, which have improved our understanding of the sensitivity limits of superconducting devices.
President Bruce Strauss and Awards Chair Joe Minervini with Dan Prober at ASC 2018
Tsukamoto_Osami

Osami Tsukamoto

2018 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large-scale applications of superconductivity, in particular:

for experimentally demonstrating by means of acoustic emission (AE) technique that mechanical disturbances are major sources of premature quenches in LTS adiabatic magnets;
for stochastic estimation of training effect of LTS adiabatic magnets;
for fundamental work in ac losses and transient heat transfer in superconducting generators; and
for his leading contributions to applied superconductivity programs, to student education, and exceptional engagement in his service to the community of Japan.
President Bruce Strauss and Awards Chair Joe Minervini with Osami Tsukamoto at ASC 2018

Gregory Goltsman

Gregory Goltsman

2017 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductive electronics, in particular:
• for invention and advancement of the superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixer, now one of the key astrophysics detectors,
• for invention and advancement of the superconducting single-photon detector, which has enabled new high-speed optical communication applications,
• for contributions to the understanding of electron energy relaxation processes in impure superconducting films.

Luca Bottura

2017 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large-scale applications, in particular,
• for developing computer codes for the design and analysis of operating margin, stability and quench of cable-in-conduit superconductors,
• for conducting the field measurement of the LHC superconducting magnets, and developing a parametric field model for the LHC operation,
• for leading the development of advanced superconducting magnets for future accelerator projects, and,
• for promoting superconducting technology internationally through technical editorship, scientific networking, and organization of scientific events.

Evgeny Yu. Klimenko

2017 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large-scale applications of superconductivity, in particular:
• for pioneering works on the forced-flow cooled superconducting magnets,
• for discovery and proof of the key role of smooth superconducting-to-normal state transition for stable operation of superconducting magnets with high current density, and
• for development of the T-15 conductor and qualification program for the first in the world Nb3Sn superconducting Tokamak

Shlomo Caspi

Shlomo Caspi

2016 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large scale applications, in particular,
• for key contributions to the design, fabrication and successful testing of multiple record high field accelerator magnets, including the record Cos(θ) magnet D20, the record common coil RD3B and the record block magnets HD1 and HD2,
• for innovations in high field accelerator magnet structures that has enabled the use of strain-sensitive Nb3Sn in high-field accelerator magnets, and,
• for major contributions to modern high-field magnet design and, in particular, to the formulation and systematic implementation of integrated design processes that incorporate 3D magnetic, structural and CAD integration.

Michael Simmonds

2016 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of SQUID-based instrumentation, in particular,
• for pioneering work in developing the revolutionary MPMS3 SQUID-VSM (Vibrating Sample Magnetometer),
• for the design of a double-balanced SQUID which uses a symmetrical geometry to decouple the modulation and input coils, and,
• for devising multiple methods of applying an AC bias to DC SQUIDs to greatly reduce low-frequency noise, enabling their use in a wide variety of applications.

W. Denis Markiewicz

2015 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large-scale applications of superconductivity, in particular:
• for his contribution to the development of the technology for very high field solenoids, in the early days with Nb3Sn tape and later with REBCO tape;
• for delivering the first 600 MHz NMR spectrometer magnet, and contributions to the development of clinical magnetic resonance imaging magnets;
• for originating the Ultra-Wide-Bore 900 MHz NMR spectrometer magnet, which allowed significant advances in NMR science and technology;
• for his work on understanding the relation between critical temperature and strain in Nb3Sn.

Oleg Mukhanov

2015 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductor electronic applications, in particular:
• for co-inventing and experimentally verifying the operation of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) superconducting digital logic circuits, which are currently the logic family most widely used in superconducting digital systems,
• for invention and co-invention of numerous RSFQ circuits and subsystems including Digital-RF Receivers, and
• for inventing a family of very low power dissipation RSFQ circuits for use in superconducting logic and memory in high performance computing systems.

Richard J. Thome

2015 Recipient of The IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of large-scale applications of superconductivity, in particular:
• for his supportive work on understanding cryogenic stabilization; for his contribution to the understanding of electromagnetic forces and stresses in the design of large magnet structures;
• for his project work on magnetic confinement fusion, MHD power generation, magnetic levitation, launchers, and ship propulsion;
• for his leadership of the ITER magnet design team in its early stages; and
• for his contributions to the education and mentoring of many engineers in superconducting technology and magnet system engineering, while working for General Atomics, MIT, Magnetic Corporation of America, and the AVCO Everett Research Laboratory.