BWIS Awards 2023 Scharff-Goldhaber Prize to STAR Collaboration's Wang for Research on Breit-Wheeler Process
October 17, 2023
By Amber Aponte
Xiaofeng Wang of Shandong University in China is the 2023 recipient of the Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber Prize. For over 30 years, Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) has bestowed this award on women graduate students in Physics—some of them doing their graduate work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and some of them performing their thesis research at the Laboratory—from all over the country and globe.
Wang was recognized at a ceremony hosted by BWIS at Brookhaven Lab on Aug. 15. This was BWIS’ first in-person award ceremony at the Lab since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019, Wang joined the BNL STAR collaboration, an international experiment that investigates the properties of the quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter that existed shortly after the Big Bang. Wang started her research on the Breit-Wheeler process, a phenomenon that converts photons, which are particles of light, into electron-positron pairs. This process was discovered at Brookhaven’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and could provide valuable information on the electromagnetic properties of the quark-gluon plasma.
At the ceremony, Wang delivered a talk titled, “Energy dependence of Breit-Wheeler process in heavy-ion collisions and its application to nuclear charge radius measurements.” Her work has highlighted the capabilities of the STAR experiment.
"Xiaofeng Wang’s award demonstrates excellence in physics achieved by the awardee in her studies of RHIC heavy ion-collisions,” said Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for High Energy Physics Dmitri Denisov. He also noted the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science and at the Lab.
“Brookhaven supports its mission by fostering a psychologically safe environment for everyone to be authentic and productive in a respectful and diverse workplace,” he said. “This way, the Lab can recognize its fullest potential and remain relevant in the future.”
The Prize was established in 1992 to honor Scharff Goldhaber’s contributions to nuclear physics and for advancing the cause of women in science. As described by Robert Park, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, she was “one of the great women pioneers in what was an almost exclusively male profession, [and] an inspiration to generations of women in physics.” Among other accolades, she was the third female physicist elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Following the award ceremony, BWIS hosted an informal lunch for all in-person attendees.
“It was encouraging to see and speak to many of the students who also work on the STAR experiment for their Ph.D.,” said BWIS President Jessica Gasparik, a physics associate and Ph.D. candidate, and an officer for this award. “Thank you to all who came out to support Xiaofeng Wang!”
The Scharff Goldhaber Award ceremony would not be possible without the commitment of BWIS volunteers and the award committee members, who give their time and effort each year to make the event possible—whether virtual, in person, or hybrid. Planning typically begins six months in advance, along with reviews of applicant materials conducted by the award committee.
“After three fully virtual editions of the Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber Prize Ceremony due to the pandemic, celebrating these rising stars of physics in person gives us a renewed sense of community and purpose,” said Marc-André Pleier, a physicist in Brookhaven Lab’s Physics Department and officer of the Scharff Goldhaber Award.
In addition to bringing the Lab community together, this award ceremony continues to play an important role in making the vision and goals of BWIS, and pioneers like Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber, a reality.
Learn more about this and other awards sponsored by BWIS.
2023-21499 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
