Cahn and Sunyaev receive 2011 Kyoto awards

John Werner Cahn has won the Kyoto prize for Advanced Technology: Materials Science and Engineering.

Cahn, who was born 9 January, 1928, is a Emeritus Senior NIST Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and also an Affiliate Professor, University of Washington. Cahn received his prize for

‘Outstanding Contribution to Alloy Materials Engineering by the Establishment of Spinodal Decomposition Theory’

Dr. John W. Cahn developed the theory of spinodal decomposition in alloy materials by incorporating the strain energy term into the free energy of the alloy system. It has made it possible to predict the optimal microstructures of alloy materials and to maximize their functions. The theory has led to the establishment of a design guideline for the development of alloy materials and contributed to the progress of both materials science and materials industry.

Rashid Alievich Sunyaev won in the Basic Sciences: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics category. Sunyaev, born 1 March 1943, is the Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Gernmany and Chief Scientist of the Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. Sunyaev won for his ‘Proposal of the Theory of Fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation to Explore the Expanding Universe, and Outstanding Contribution to High-Energy Astronomy’

Sunyaev has made a far-reaching influence on contemporary observational cosmology through his theoretical studies of acoustic oscillations in the early universe left their imprint on temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation and the scattering of that radiation by hot electrons in the clusters of galaxies. He has also made significant contributions to high-energy astronomy through his theoretical research on the accretion of matter onto high-density celestial objects and the energy release mechanisms involved, as well as his leadership of international observational projects.