12 April 2000

Plainsboro, New Jersey -- President Clinton yesterday named 60 young researchers -- including Gennady Shvets, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) -- as recipients of the fourth annual Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. This award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The researchers received their awards today, Wednesday, April 12, in a White House ceremony.

Established by President Clinton in February of 1996, the award embodies the high priority the Administration places on producing outstanding scientists and engineers ready to contribute to all sectors of the economy. Eight Federal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the most meritorious young scientists and engineers who will broadly advance the science and technology that will be of the greatest benefit to fulfilling the agencies' missions.

"We honor these outstanding young scientists and engineers for their research contributions, for their promise, and for their commitment to broader societal goals," President Clinton said. "They will do much to shape our society and advance our national interests in the twenty-first century."

The young scientists and engineers receive up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical government missions. The Federal agencies involved are: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and the National Science Foundation.

Also on Wednesday, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson presented Shvets and four other scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Awards in Science and Engineering. Shvets was cited "for theoretical and computational investigations of the interaction of ultra-strong laser pulses with plasmas (hot, ionized gases), with applications to inertial confinement fusion, to plasma-based particle accelerators, to new radiation sources based on beams and plasmas." Secretary Richardson presented the DOE awards at a Department reception before the White House ceremony.

Shvets was born in Kiev (Ukraine) and attended the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology from 1986-1989, majoring in physics and chemistry. In December of 1989, he and his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Baltimore. He received a Ph.D. in plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995, and came to PPPL the same year as a DOE Postdoctoral Fellow. His postdoctoral work was with Princeton University Professor Nathaniel Fisch on the topics of particle collisions in strongly illuminated plasmas, advanced accelerator concepts, and intense laser effects in plasma.

Professor Fisch, who is also PPPL Associate Director for Academic Affairs, said, "Dr. Shvets is an outstanding young scientist who is fast becoming a leading figure in the area of laser interactions with plasma. This is an important area of research. Lasers are becoming more and more powerful as technology progresses. In interacting with powerful laser light, matter is quickly ionized if not already a plasma. Plasma illuminated by intense light may be made compressed enough to undergo spontaneous nuclear fusion, or it may contain fields capable of accelerating particles to huge energies for scientific purposes. Hence, the area that Dr. Shvets has specialized in holds some of the most exciting research directions in the field. Dr. Shvets is simply full of ideas. It has been a real pleasure working with him at Princeton. He is an excellent choice for this award."

In 1997, Shvets joined the staff of PPPL's Theory Department. His present research interests are in the fields of ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions, plasma-based accelerators, and nonlinear optics in plasmas. Shvets resides with his wife, Isabella Khavash, in Plainsboro.

PPPL, funded by the DOE and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source.

For further information, please contact:

Anthony R. DeMeo
Head
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2755
ademeo@pppl.gov

Patricia Wieser
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2757
pwieser@pppl.gov

Downloadable print-quality photo of Presidential Award Winner PPPL Physicist Gennady Shvets. Resolution is 200 dpi, print size is approximately 2.86 inches wide by 3.23 inches high. File type is jpeg. File size is 335 KB. Photo is by El Starkman.