CERNois wins prestigious accelerator award

During the 2nd International Particle Accelerator Conference, CERN’s Rogelio Tomás García became the first Spaniard to receive the Frank Sacherer Prize for his work in particle beam optics.

 

Rogelio Tomás García at the 2nd International Particle Accelerator Conference.

The Frank Sacherer Prize is awarded to physicists who have made a “significant, original contribution to the accelerator field" early on in their career. This year the prize was given to Rogelio Tomás García who, at only 35 years of age, has made important contributions to the optics design, optics measurement, and correction techniques applied at both the LHC and Brookhaven’s RHIC. “Tomás has had a vital impact on CERN’s beam optics studies and has made very impressive achievements in the field of beam optics,” says Oliver Brüning, Head of the Accelerators and Beam Physics group of the BE Department. The EPS board also gave particular praise to Tomás’ use of theoretical knowledge to create highly practical solutions for accelerators.

After earning an undergraduate degree at the University of Valencia, Tomás came to CERN to work on his PhD. His research focused on finding ways to measure the non-linear beam dynamics of the SPS. Upon publication, the technique described in his thesis was used by a number of accelerators – including DIAMOND in the UK – to correct deviations in particle trajectories and to improve on the lifetimes of particle beams.

Tomás subsequently worked at Brookhaven’s RHIC and the ALBA synchrotron in Barcelona, before returning to CERN in 2005. Applying all his skills in beam technology to the LHC, Tomás’ work to improve beam optics at interaction points resulted in a reduction of the percentage error of beam sizes from 20% to 10%. He has also worked on the CLIC beam delivery system, making improvements that resulted in a predicted 70% increase in beam luminosity.

We wish him every success in his promising career.

 

 

by Katarina Anthony