The Bergmann-Wheeler Thesis Prize

Prof. Peter Bergmann (left) & Prof. John Wheeler (right).

In 2008, the Society instituted a Thesis Prize in memory of Professors Peter Bergmann (1915-2002) and John Wheeler (1911-2008).This prize is sponsored by {\it classical and Quantum Gravity}, published by the Institute of Physics, UK.

They were both pioneers of quantum gravity. With Paul Dirac, Professor Bergmann developed the theory of constrained systems and applied it to the gravitational field. With Albert Einstein, he developed unified field theory and introduced several ideas that have now fundamental to physics of extra dimensions. He was one of the founders of our Society and served as its third President. Professor Wheeler made seminal contributions to nuclear physics and was key to the development of several key ideas in the foundations of quantum mechanics and black hole physics. With Bryce DeWitt, he developed canonical quantum gravity and paved the way to quantum cosmology. The first Albert Einstein prize of the American Physical Society was awarded jointly to Professors Bergmann and Wheeler.

The first Bergmann-Wheeler prize will be awarded GR19 in Mexico City for the best Ph.D. thesis in the broad area encompassing all approaches to quantum gravity. The recipient will receive a cheque for US $ 1500 and a certificate.

The governance can be summarized as follows. The deadline for receipt of the nomination packet is September 30th, 2009. The nominator must be a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation and can make at most one nomination. The nominee need not be a member of the Society but the official defense must have taken place between October 1, 2006 and September 30th, 2009. The nomination package will consist of:

i) A nomination letter summarizing the main results and their importance, and elaborating student's role in case of joint work.
ii) A PDF file or four hard copies of the thesis (one for each committee member). Copies of published papers that constitute the thesis can be submitted in lieu of the thesis.
iii) A CV and the publication list of the nominee.
iv) An official University document showing the date of the successful Ph.D. defense.
v) One or two letters in support from experts if the nominator is a supervisor of the Ph.D. thesis.

The primary criteria for selection will be the high quality of scientific results, creativity and originality, and the significance of results to the broad area of the prize. The winner for each prize will be chosen by a committee of leading international experts in the field approximately six months before the GR19 conference in Mexico City. This will provide the winners ample time to plan travel to the conference. (In exceptional cases, the Executive committee of the GRG Society may allow the prize to be given in absentia.)

Electronic nominations are preferred. The nomination packet should be sent to:

Ms Randi Neshteruk

Mailing address for hard copies:

Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos
104 Davey Lab, Penn State
University Park, PA 16802-6300