Prizes

Dr. Jean-Luc Vay of LBNL is one of the winner of the IEEE NPSS Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award 2025. 

“For seminal contributions and leadership in computational beam and accelerator physics.”

Jean-Luc Vay is a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), where he leads the Accelerator Modeling Program. With a Ph.D. in Physics from Université Paris-7, his career spans pioneering contributions in high-performance computing and simulation of charged particle beams, plasmas, and advanced accelerators. Vay is recognized for developing innovative computational techniques, such as Lorentz-boosted frame simulations, and has been instrumental in architecting tools for next-generation accelerator modeling on exascale platforms.

He has held leadership roles in numerous U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects, including principal investigator positions for SciDAC and Exascale Computing Projects. Vay has authored over 200 publications and earned multiple prestigious awards, such as the ACM Gordon Bell Prize (2022) and Fellowship in the American Physical Society (2018).

A thought leader in his field, he actively contributes to strategic research planning through workshops, committees, and academic instruction, including lecturing at CERN and U.S. Particle Accelerator Schools. His work continues to shape the future of accelerator science and high-performance simulations globally.

Dr. Yoshinori Enomoto of KEK is a winner of the IEEE NPSS Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award for 2025. 

“For his critical contributions to injector linac technology, particularly the development of pulsed magnet systems and positron production.”

Dr. Yoshinori Enomoto is an accelerator physicist specializing in high-intensity positron sources for cutting-edge particle accelerators. He joined the KEK injector linac group in 2015, where he has played a leading role in the design and development of positron sources for major collider projects, including SuperKEKB and the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC). His expertise was pivotal in stabilizing the world’s most intense operational positron source at SuperKEKB, notably by innovating the use of a novel copper alloy to improve the performance of the flux concentrator.

Enomoto’s research spans the full lifecycle of accelerator components, from design and prototyping to simulation and testing. He has also contributed significantly to global collaborations focused on future Higgs factories such as the ILC, FCC-ee, and CEPC.

Before joining KEK, Enomoto worked at RIKEN, where he developed the RIKEN Cryogenic Electrostatic Ion Storage Ring (RICE), achieving stable storage of heavy ions at cryogenic temperatures. He began his research career developing charged particle traps for antihydrogen synthesis at the University of Tokyo, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2011. Enomoto is an active member of several scientific societies and teaches high-energy accelerator science at Chuo University

Dr. Andrew Fisher of Zap Energy (Ph.D from UCLA) is the recipient of the 2025 IEEE Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Doctoral Student Award. 

“For outstanding work in the development of tunable free-electron laser technology with high record-breaking efficiency in the THz frequency range.”

Dr. Andrew Fisher recently completed a Ph.D. in Physics at UCLA, where he conducted research on high-efficiency Free Electron Laser (FEL) interactions in the terahertz regime under the guidance of Prof. Pietro Musumeci. His experiments demonstrated up to 10% single-pass efficiency in a one-meter undulator by leveraging “zero-slippage” waveguide resonance combined with strong undulator tapering. As part of this work, he helped develop a frequency-domain model of field generation, implemented as a custom element in the General Particle Tracer (GPT) code.

Beyond his research, Andrew led upgrades to the software controls and data acquisition routines for the Pegasus Beamline at UCLA, improving experimental workflows. Following graduation, he joined RadiaBeam Technologies in Los Angeles, where he contributed to the commissioning of a 100 MeV electron beamline. He recently transitioned to Zap Energy in Washington state, where he works on the controls team supporting fusion energy development.

 The 2025 USPAS Prize winners are:

• Eric Esarey

  In recognition of outstanding contributions to the science and technology of plasma acceleration concepts, and, in particular, for pioneering theoretical research in the physics of laser-plasma accelerators.

• Sang-Ho Kim

  For visionary leadership and technical excellence in the development of the world’s first high power hadron superconducting linear accelerator, and for mentoring the next generation of experts in the field.

• Sam Posen

  For groundbreaking achievements in the performance of Nb3Sn and Nb cavities enabling more efficient particle accelerators and novel dark matter particle detectors.

APS DPB Student Doctoral Award

This award acknowledges doctoral thesis research of exceptional quality and achievement in beam physics and engineering.  Learn more on the APS DPB Prizes web pages.

Robert R. Wilson Prize

The Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to particle accelerator physics. Learn more on the Wilson Prize page.

Deeksha Sinha (Northern Illinois University)

Design study of an RF-Kicker module for bunch cleaning at the ATLAS Positive-Ion Injector.

Logan Knudson (Crocker Nuclear Lab)

Fast Beam Probe Development for Longitudinal Bunch Measurements at UC Davis Crocker Nuclear Laboratory Cyclotron

Dillon Merenich (Northern Illinois University)

Recent Progresses Regarding Enclosed RF Cavities for Future Muon Collider Cooling Channel

Jacob Lewis (Old Dominion University)

Design of a shipping fixture for a compact cryomodule hermetic assembly