Los Alamos' Bowles wins top Russian science prize

Contact: Jim Danneskiold, jdanneskiold@lanl.gov, (505) 667-1640 (03-064)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., May 15, 2003 -- A Los Alamos neutrino physicist has received the top scientific prize awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Nuclear Research.

Tom Bowles from Los Alamos' Physics Division is only the second non-Russian to receive such an award from any Academy of Sciences institute.

Bowles, the co-principal investigator of the Russian-American gallium solar neutrino experiment, accepted the M. A. Markov Prize at the Institute in Moscow on Wednesday during a two-day symposium. The prize is named for the institute's founder, Moisey A. Markov, and is awarded each year for substantial contribution to fundamental physics and for development of major research directions of the institute's scientific program.

Bowles since 1986 has helped lead the experiment, which is known commonly as SAGE, or the Soviet-American Gallium Experiment.

The Soviet-American Gallium Experiment has been the only experiment to directly detect low-energy neutrinos from proton-proton fusion in the sun. These neutrinos, which are made in the primary reaction that provides the sun's energy, are the major component of the solar neutrino flux. Buried deep beneath the Caucasus Mountains at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory in southern Russia, SAGE counts solar neutrino reactions inside a tank containing 50-metric tons of gallium.

Results reported by the Russian-American SAGE team in the early and mid-1990s, when it counted nearly 100 solar neutrino signatures, electrified the scientific world. The neutrino capture rate was well below that predicted by the Standard Solar Model. The significant suppression of the solar neutrino flux that SAGE and other solar neutrino experiments have observed gives a strong indication for the existence of neutrino oscillations.

"This is a great honor, and shows the importance the Russian science community places on this groundbreaking, 16-year partnership," Bowles said. "I'm especially excited to travel to Moscow to receive this award as part of the institute's celebration of academician Markov's birthday."

Sharing the prize with Bowles this year are Vladimir Gavrin and Vadim Kuzmin, both from the institute. Gavrin has served as the Russian co-principal investigator since SAGE began in the 1970s. Kuzmin in the 1960s was the first person to suggest that gallium could be used as a means of measuring the solar neutrinos from proton-proton fusion reactions.

The diploma awarded to the trio reads, "For Outstanding Contributions to Fundamental Physics and the Development of Research on the Solar Neutrino Problem."

As the institution's top research prize, the Markov award is comparable to the Los Alamos Medal, Bowles said. The Institute for Nuclear Research has more than 8,000 employees.

Bowles is only the second non-Russian to receive an Academy of Sciences institute award. The first went to Ray Davis of the University of Pennsylvania, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics last year for his research on solar neutrinos.

Each of the institutions of the Academy of Sciences awards a prize each year. The Markov award was established two years ago, but equally prestigious prizes have been awarded for many years by the other four institutions of the Academy of Sciences.

Markov was a long-time, prominent academician in the Russian Academy of Sciences and founder of the Institute for Nuclear Research. Throughout his career, he was an advocate for strong research programs in astro-particle physics, and helped found both the Baksan and Baikal neutrino observatories.

"SAGE is often cited as one of the very best examples of Russian-American scientific collaborations," Bowles said. "Although the Russians started this work on their own and the principal funding today comes from Russian agencies, Gavrin and others acknowledge that the success of the experiment is due in large part to the U.S. collaboration."

Bowles recalled several adventures during his many years of traveling to southern Russia for the experiment during and after the Cold War. During the war with Chechnya, fuel oil supplies were scarce, and Bowles and his colleagues spent many winter months without heat.

Support for SAGE comes from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute for Nuclear Research, the Russian Ministry of Science and Technology, the Russian Foundation of Fundamental Research, the Division of Nuclear Physics of the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation.

SAGE also is funded in part by grants from the International Science Foundation and the Russian government. More information about SAGE is available at http://ewi.npl.washington.edu/sage/SAGE.html online.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

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