Research by Stony Brook Alumnus Recognized by the American Physical Society

STONY BROOK , NY - Dr. Rama Calaga, an alumnus from the department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University received a Doctoral Research Award from the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Physics of Beams (DPB) for his dissertation about characterization and correction of RHIC's transverse optics and beam dynamics, and about design of an Ampere class SRF gun and cavity.

The Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Beam Physics Award was established to recognize doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in beam physics and engineering. Doctoral students world-wide are nominated and awarded for work performed as part of the requirements for a doctoral degree.

"The award-winning research in Ram's dissertation is a splendid example of what emerges from the close interaction and cooperation between Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory," stated Peter M. Koch, Professor of Physics and Chair
of the Physics & Astronomy department at Stony Brook.

Calaga's Ph.D. work was supervised by Drs. Ilan Ben-Zvi and Steve Peggs, who are research staff members at BNL and Professors of physics at Stony Brook University. His research was also recognized last year when he received Stony Brook's President's Award to Distinguished Doctoral Students in May 2006.

Calaga defended his thesis and completed his Ph.D. in Physics at Stony Brook in 2006. He obtained a B.S. in Physics and Minor in Mathematics (2000) from Truman State University. He has authored and co-authored over 20 journal and conference publications. He is the recipient of innumerable honors and awards including (but not limited to), the TOOHIG postdoctoral fellowship (LARP), the NPSS-IEEE Graduate Scholarship Award, Truman State University's New Student Leader Award, President Honorary Scholarship, and International Merit Scholarship. Calaga is also a member of the National Physics Honor Society, which honors outstanding scholarship in physics.

The Doctoral Research Award consists of $2,500 and a certificate to be presented at an awards ceremony at the Division of Physics of Beams Annual Meeting, to be held in April this year. Recipients present their work as an invited talk in an appropriate session of the meeting and an additional allowance of up to $500 for travel to the meeting. The annual award was established in 1990 by the Division of Physics of Beams and is supported by Brookhaven Science Associates and Universities Research Association and Southeastern Universities Research Association.