DPG Press Release, November 14, 2024
“In recognition of his groundbreaking developments of Penning ion traps into spectroscopic precision measurement devices and their applications for testing the four fundamental forces, their symmetries, the fundamental constants, and thereby the Standard Model of particle physics.”
Klaus Blaum is being recognized for his groundbreaking advancements in Penning ion trap technology, which have significantly improved the precision of measurements of masses, charges, and magnetic moments of particles, antiparticles, and highly charged ions by up to two orders of magnitude. This enables the study of fundamental forces and interactions with an accuracy that rivals and complements the largest particle accelerators in the world.
Klaus Blaum studied physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where he earned his PhD in 2000. After positions at GSI Darmstadt, CERN, and as a Helmholtz junior research group leader in Mainz, he was appointed Director of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg in 2007. He has received numerous awards, including the Gustav Hertz and Otto Hahn Prizes, and has been awarded two ERC Advanced Grants.
The award will be presented in March 2025 during the 88th Annual Meeting of the DPG in Bonn.
The Stern-Gerlach Medal is the highest award of the DPG for outstanding achievements in experimental physics. It is given for work in any area of physics. The award consists of a gold medal featuring the portraits of Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, as well as a certificate handwritten on parchment.