PALO ALTO, Calif., Apr 06, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that
the European Physical Society (EPS) has awarded the 2005 Agilent
Europhysics Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Condensed Matter
Physics to three scientists for their investigations of magnetic
semiconductors and spin coherence in the solid state, which has paved
the way for the emergence of spin electronics, or "spintronics." The
honorees are David Awschalom, Department of Physics, University of
California, Santa Barbara; Tomasz Dietl, Institute of Physics, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Poland; and Hideo Ohno, Research Institute of
Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, Japan.
"We are proud to recognize these scientists for combining advanced
materials engineering, insightful theoretical modeling, ingenious
experimental techniques, and international collaboration to attain
important breakthroughs in spintronics," said Jim Hollenhorst,
director of molecular technology at Agilent Laboratories, the
company's central research organization.
The Europhysics Prize is one of the most prestigious honors given
by the EPS, with eight past awardees subsequently winning the Nobel
Prize.
Agilent has sponsored the Europhysics Prize for the past 30 years
(as Hewlett-Packard until 1999), based on the belief that fundamental
advances in science have the potential to revolutionize the way people
live and work. With a cash award of 51,000 Swiss francs, the prize
recognizes scientific excellence and focuses on work that advances the
fields of electronic, electrical and materials engineering. A
committee appointed by the EPS, including one representative from
Agilent, selects the recipients.
Scientific Background
Conventional electronics is based on controlling the flow of an
electric charge using a transistor, a type of valve for electrons. As
the size of transistors moves into nanoscale dimensions, the classical
rules of physics are displaced by the bizarre rules of quantum
mechanics. One of the strangest manifestations of this quantum world
is a property called spin, which has led to the emergence of a new
branch of electronics called spintronics. Something like the spinning
of a top, spin gives the electron magnetic properties, such as those
of an infinitesimally small bar magnet, but with strange quantum
properties. The goal is to control the spin of electrons to make
radically new electronic devices. For example, spintronic sensors are
enabling the latest advances in the remarkable miniaturization of
computer disk drives.
Awschalom, Dietl, and Ohno have pioneered a promising area of
spintronics with their work on spin effects in semiconductor
materials, the class of materials used to make transistors. They have
demonstrated new material compositions, methods for injecting spins
and novel methods for controlling the direction of spin. These
discoveries open the door for new devices and systems that exploit the
use of spin for storing, processing and communicating information.
They have also demonstrated quantum coherence effects, which in the
future could lead to quantum computers with unprecedented
capabilities.
Additional information about the winners and the Agilent
Europhysics Prize is available at
www.agilent.com/contributions/europhysics.html.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a global technology leader
in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis.
The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110
countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year
2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at
www.agilent.com.
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SOURCE: Agilent Technologies Inc.
Agilent Technologies Inc.
Jorgen Tesselaar, +31 20 547 2825
jorgen_tesselaar@agilent.com
Mary Lou Simmermacher, 650-485-6087
marylou_simmermacher@agilent.com