Tweet
2 JERSEY RESEARCH SCIENTISTS WIN GRANTS FROM FOUNDATION
By Kitta Macpherson
The Star-Ledger , NJ -
Oct 10 2007
Two young researchers from New Jersey, one intrigued by the exotic
realm of the supercold, the other working to find a way to guarantee
the security of computer systems, have been awarded prestigious grants
from a California foundation.
Rutgers University physicist Emil Yuzbashyan, 36, will be the first
scientist at the New Brunswick institution to win a Packard Foundation
fellowship for science and engineering, along with $625,000 in
"no-strings" research funding for five years.
Yuzbashyan, who joined Rutgers in 2004 after earning his doctorate
in physics from Princeton University, is studying properties of
matter at temperatures close to absolute zero -- the point where all
motion ceases. Particles at these temperatures interact with each
other in unusual ways. Understanding those interactions, he said,
could promote powerful new technologies such as quantum de vices
and superconductivity.
Cryptographer Boaz Barak, a 33-year-old computer science professor,
won the honors for Princeton University, along with the grant. His
work is theoretical and consists of constructing mathematical proofs.
Computer users, whether they are logging into their bank ac counts,
buying items online or sending confidential e-mails, want to know they
are using a secure system. "I'm not asking what can we build that
will not be broken today," said Barak, a native of Israel. "What we
are looking at is what can we prove that's simply impossible to break
within, say, the computing resources that exist in the universe."
He doesn't use computers in his work, just mainly "pen and paper." He
employs complexity theory in his thinking, an area that exists,
he says, "at the intersection of mathematics and computer science."
Both are among 20 fellows that the foundation selected from
nominations at 50 of the nation's top private and public research
universities. Recipients are in the first three years of their faculty
careers and have shown exceptional creativity in individual research.
"The fellowship will help me build a skilled team of doctoral stu
dents, postdoctoral research fel lows and visiting scientists to
pursue this research and collaborate with others doing related work
worldwide," Yuzbashyan said.
His research delves into condensed matter physics, exploring the
physical properties of solid and liquid matter. He has recently
developed a new theory related to superfluidity, or how a liquid
cooled to near absolute zero can flow endlessly in a closed loop
without any outside sources of energy to sus tain that motion.
He was born in Armenia and came to the U.S. in 1998 to pursue his
doctoral studies.
"Having one of our faculty win this award is a landmark for Rutgers,"
said Torgny Gustafsson, chairman of the university's physics and
astronomy department.
David Packard is the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, the computer
company. He started the fellowship program in 1988 to strengthen
university-based science and engineering programs and support unusually
creative researchers early in their careers.
By Kitta Macpherson
The Star-Ledger , NJ -
Oct 10 2007
Two young researchers from New Jersey, one intrigued by the exotic
realm of the supercold, the other working to find a way to guarantee
the security of computer systems, have been awarded prestigious grants
from a California foundation.
Rutgers University physicist Emil Yuzbashyan, 36, will be the first
scientist at the New Brunswick institution to win a Packard Foundation
fellowship for science and engineering, along with $625,000 in
"no-strings" research funding for five years.
Yuzbashyan, who joined Rutgers in 2004 after earning his doctorate
in physics from Princeton University, is studying properties of
matter at temperatures close to absolute zero -- the point where all
motion ceases. Particles at these temperatures interact with each
other in unusual ways. Understanding those interactions, he said,
could promote powerful new technologies such as quantum de vices
and superconductivity.
Cryptographer Boaz Barak, a 33-year-old computer science professor,
won the honors for Princeton University, along with the grant. His
work is theoretical and consists of constructing mathematical proofs.
Computer users, whether they are logging into their bank ac counts,
buying items online or sending confidential e-mails, want to know they
are using a secure system. "I'm not asking what can we build that
will not be broken today," said Barak, a native of Israel. "What we
are looking at is what can we prove that's simply impossible to break
within, say, the computing resources that exist in the universe."
He doesn't use computers in his work, just mainly "pen and paper." He
employs complexity theory in his thinking, an area that exists,
he says, "at the intersection of mathematics and computer science."
Both are among 20 fellows that the foundation selected from
nominations at 50 of the nation's top private and public research
universities. Recipients are in the first three years of their faculty
careers and have shown exceptional creativity in individual research.
"The fellowship will help me build a skilled team of doctoral stu
dents, postdoctoral research fel lows and visiting scientists to
pursue this research and collaborate with others doing related work
worldwide," Yuzbashyan said.
His research delves into condensed matter physics, exploring the
physical properties of solid and liquid matter. He has recently
developed a new theory related to superfluidity, or how a liquid
cooled to near absolute zero can flow endlessly in a closed loop
without any outside sources of energy to sus tain that motion.
He was born in Armenia and came to the U.S. in 1998 to pursue his
doctoral studies.
"Having one of our faculty win this award is a landmark for Rutgers,"
said Torgny Gustafsson, chairman of the university's physics and
astronomy department.
David Packard is the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, the computer
company. He started the fellowship program in 1988 to strengthen
university-based science and engineering programs and support unusually
creative researchers early in their careers.