In Brief

After 26 years at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, most recently as vice president of physical research, Federico Capasso joined Harvard University last month as Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering.

During a ceremony in Munich, Germany, in December, the European Commission awarded the 2002 Descartes Prize to two international research groups, one of which does physics-related work. An astrophysics team consisting of scientists from eight countries and led by Edward van den Heuvel of the University of Amsterdam was cited for “solving what has been for 30 years one of the greatest mysteries of astrophysics: the places of origin of the Gamma Ray Bursts.” The team split the ₠1 million prize with the other winner, a team pursuing medical research.

Jim Breckinridge joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Washington, DC, office last fall as the theme technologist of NASA’s Astronomical Search for Origins Program, which seeks to answer the questions, Where do we come from? Are we alone? He spent the past three years at NSF in Arlington, Virginia, as program director for advanced technology and instruments and as program manager for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia.

At a ceremony in Washington, DC, in December, Katharine B. Gebbie was among nine federal employees honored with a Service to America Medal, given jointly by the Atlantic Media Group and Partnership for Public Service. Gebbie, director of NIST’s Physics Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland, received the 2002 Career Achievement Medal, in part for being “the founding director of the award-winning NIST Physics Laboratory” and for being “a pioneer in the practical application of emerging technologies.” She also was recognized for having “helped enhance scientific career opportunities for women and minorities through a lifetime of service.” She received a $5 000 cash prize. Service to America Medals, given for the first time in 2002, are presented annually to recognize federal workers’ achievements.