Member of SCNAT

CHIPP is an association uniting researchers active in particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics in Switzerland. It strengthens the Swiss participation in international projects and committees, coordinates research and teaching activities in Switzerland, and promotes public awareness of the field.more

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CHIPP PhD Prize

CHIPP PhD Prize

The CHIPP Prize is to reward annually the best PhD student in Experimental or Theoretical Particle Physics. In the evaluation, emphasis will be given to the quality of PhD scientific work and to its relevance within the student's research group, as well as to novel ideas brought up by the candidate.

The applications are evaluated and assessed by the Selection Committee, at present composed of Michael Spira (PSI, Chair), Aurelio Bay (EPFL), Alain Blondel (UniGE), Christopher Grab (ETHZ) and Lenny Rivkin(EPFL/PSI).

The announcement is sent to all CHIPP Members and follows the revised procedures as decided on 26 February 2016 by the CHIPP Board

Gabriela Araujo, she also competes in science communication contests like Famelab
Image: Gabriela Araujo

2024 CHIPP Prize: Gabriela Rodrigues Araujo

The CHIPP Prize jury honours Gabriela Rodrigues Araujo for her significant and novel contributions to a wide range of experimental techniques for the GERDA, LEGEND, MONUMENT and PALEOCCENE experiments in the field of neutrino physics. Her work spans from analysing and setting record-limits on the 0-n2b decay lifetime, to innovative studies of wavelength-shifting reflectors (WLSR), including simulation, measurements and construction of a full WLSR production system. Further, she characterized the x-ray and gamma emission lines in ordinary muon capture for the benefit of refining relevant NME calculations. On a completely different research front, with her creativity Gabriela pioneered the novel application of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) of radiation-induced color centers, thereby demonstrating for the first time its potential to detect signals of nuclear recoils induced by dark matter.

Article by Barbara Warmbein for CHIPP

CHIPP Prize 2023 Anne-Mazarine Lyon
Image: Anne-Mazarine Lyon

2023 CHIPP Prize: Anne-Mazarine Lyon

This year’s CHIPP prizewinner Anne-Mazarine Lyon hunts for signs of new physics in the form of supersymmetric particles and heavy neutrinos.

The CHIPP Prize jury honours Anne-Mazarine or her experimental studies within the CMS collaboration, which made a major contribution to searches for supersymmetry and established a generic additional branch of searches for heavy neutral leptons in bottom-meson decays.

Here is the published article from B. Warmbein: On a course to discovery

CHIPP Prize 2022 photo
Image: CHIPP

CHIPP PRIZE 2022

Guillaume Pietrzyk (EPFL)

The symmetries of the very big and very small

The CHIPP Prize jury honours Guillaume Pietrzyk for his experimental studies within the LHCb collaboration, which led to determine with unprecedented precision the rare phenomenon of particle-antiparticle oscillation in the neutral charm-meson system.

Born in Catania, Sicily, Gabriel Cuomo went to Trieste for his master's degree, to Lausanne as a doctoral student, and finally to New York as a postdoc. The picture shows Cuomo during a visit to Switzerland.
Image: G. Cuomo

CHIPP Prize 2021 goes to École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) researcher Dr. Gabriel Cuomo

"The CHIPP Prize jury honours Gabriel Cuomo for his outstanding theoretical studies of quantum field theories in the strongly coupled regime, which elucidated new properties relevant to a variety physical systems: from condensed matter to cosmology."

Article by B. Vogel link

Claudia Merlassino and ATLAS
Image: C. Merlassino, Switzerland.

CHIPP Prize 2020 goes to the University of Bern researcher Dr. Claudia Merlassino

The CHIPP Prize jury honours the scientist for her outstanding contribution in the development of new analysis strategies in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model at the LHC experiments, and for having conceived an conducted an innovative study about the radiation damage of the ATALS detector in view of the high-luminosity phase of the LHC.

Article by B. Vogel link

The particle physicist Michał Rawlik (29), who studied physics at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and earned his doctorate at ETH Zurich, is awarded the CHIPP Prize 2019. Photo: B. Vogel
Image: CHIPP, Switzerland

CHIPP Prize 2019 goes to PSI researcher Dr. Michał Rawlik

Michał Rawlik, scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) is awarded the CHIPP Prize 2019. The 29-year-old researcher receives the award for his doctoral thesis on the electric dipole moment of the neutron. The experiment he co-developed could one day help answer the question of why there is much more matter in the universe than antimatter

Rawlik was awarded the prize "for his outstanding contribution to the improvement of experimental techniques aimed at detecting the Electric Dipole Moment of the neutron, and exploiting the consequences of such measurements in setting bounds on possible Axion fields," writes the CHIPP Prize jury.

The presentation of his work will be published on Thursday 29/08 on the SPS/OPG Indico webpage, his talk can be found here.

The full article of Benedikt Vogel will be published the 28/08 at 11:00 after the Award Cermony at the SPS.

Wins the CHIPP Prize 2018: Dr. Claudia Tambasco.
Image: Claudia Tambasco, EPFL, Switzerland

Claudia Tambasco honoured with CHIPP Prize 2018


PhD thesis on the stability of the LHC proton beam awared

In order for physicists at CERN to carry out their experiments for the understanding of matter, the large particle accelerator LHC must be operated with the utmost precision. Ensuring this precision both now and in the future was the overriding goal of a doctoral thesis that Claudia Tambasco recently completed at the EPFL in Lausanne. For this work, the young researcher was today (28.08.2018) awarded the prize of the Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP) at a ceremony in Lausanne.

The presentation of her work is here and here

The full article of Benedikt Vogel: link

CHIPP Prize 2018

Announcement: The call will be sent out mid February (by email to all members of CHIPP)

Deadline for applications: Fri 13 April 2018
(CV, Report, List of Publ, 2 or 3 Letters, by email to adrian.signer@psi.ch)

Encourage your current or former PhD students to apply
(if they have passed their final PhD thesis defence after 13 April 2017)

Prize ceremony: SPS/CHIPP annual meeting 29-31 August

Presentation at the CHIPP Board meeting of 18 Feb 2018

The CHIPP Prize winner 2017: Dr. Johanna Gramling.
Image: private

Prize 2017

Johanna Gramling (Uni. Geneva)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the 10th time. This year, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Johanna Gramling from the University of Geneva for her dissertation on dark matter searches with the ATLAS detector in CERN. The laudatio says: "For her work on dark matter searches with the ATLAS detector and her role in establishing the use of simplified models for their theoretical interpretation.". The presentation of her work is accessible here.

Mohamed Rameez, winner of the CHIPP Prize 2016.
Image: Bjarne Sorensen

Prize 2016

Mohamed RAMEEZ (Uni. Geneva)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the 9th time. This year, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Mohamed Rameez from the University of Geneva for his dissertation on dark matter searches with the IceCube neutrino detector in Antarctica. The laudatio says: "For his leadership in the searches for dark matter annihilation in the sun with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and his contribution to their theoretical interpretation.". The presentation of his work is accessible here.

Witthauer CHIPP Prize 2015

Prize 2015

Lilian WITTHAUER (Uni. Basel)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the 8th time. This year, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Lilian Witthauer from the University of Basel for her dissertation (in prep.) on the η-photoproduction off quasi-free nucleons. The laudatio says: "For her comprehensive study of photoproduction of η-mesons on nucleons bound in deuterium and 3He with polarized beams and targets, which covered all aspects from data-taking with two different experimental set-ups at two medium energy electron accelerators to detector calibration and a challenging analysis". The presentation of her work is accessible here.

Marco Peruzzi

Prize 2014

Marco PERUZZI (ETH Zurich)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the seventh time. This year, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Marco Peruzzi from ETH Zürich for his dissertation (in prep.) on the measurement of the diphoton differential cross sections with the CMS detector at the LHC. The laudatio says: "For his original contribution to the development of novel topological algorithms to identify single photons in the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the LHC and discriminate them agains abundant background from neutral pions". The presentation of his work is accessible here.

CHIPP Prize 2013 Fertl

Prize 2013

Martin FERTL (PSI)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the sixth time. This year, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Martin Fertl from PSI for his dissertation (in prep.) on the Hg co-magnetometer in the nEDM experiment at PSI. The laudatio says: "For his original contributions to the design and contribution of a new experiment planning to measure the electric dipole moment of the neutron at PSI". The presentation of his work is accessible here.

CHIPP Prize 2012 Herzog

Prize 2012

Franz HERZOG (ETH Zurich)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the fifth time. Out of eight candidates and following the new procedure published on the CHIPP website, the CHIPP Selection Committee decided to award the prize to Franz Herzog from ETHZ for his dissertation (in prep.) on QCD corrections and non-linear mappings. The laudatio says: "For his contributions in developing a new method for NNLO perturbative calculations and its application to the phenomenology of the Higgs boson". His talk can be found here.

CHIPP Prize 2011 Lesya SHCHUTSKA

Prize 2011

Lesya SHCHUTSKA (EPF Lausanne)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics is awarded for the fourth time. Following the procedure published on the CHIPP website, the CHIPP Board selected Lesya Shchutska from EPFL for her dissertation (in preparation) on measurement of the cosmic-ray positron fraction with PEBS. The laudation says: "For her broad contribution to optimise the design of a balloon borne cosmic ray detector".

CHIPP Prize 2010 Kish

Prize 2010

Alexander KISH (University of Zurich)

The CHIPP Prize for the best PhD student in experimental or theoretical particle physics was awarded for the third time. Out of three candidates and following the normal procedure, the CHIPP Board selected Alexander Kish from University of Zurich. The laudation says:" For his excellent experimental work and original contributions in the field of direct dark matter detection".

Prize 2009

Pedro SCHWALLER (University of Zurich)

"For his deep understanding of quantum field theory and his important and original contributions to theoretical particle physics".

Prize 2008

Michael RISSI (ETH Zurich)

"For his excellent experimental work and original contributions in the field of gamma-ray astrophysics".