Date: Jan. 16, 2004



The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) awards announcement. The awards will be presented on April 19 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., during the Academy's 141st annual meeting.



Comstock Prize in Physics – a prize of $20,000 awarded approximately every five years to a resident of North America for recent innovative discovery or investigation in electricity, magnetism, or radiant energy, broadly interpreted – goes to John N. Bahcall, Richard Black Professor of Natural Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. Bahcall was chosen "for his many contributions to astrophysics, especially his definitive work on solar models and his crucial role in identifying and resolving the solar neutrino problem." The prize was established through the Cyrus B. Comstock Fund and has been presented since 1913.



Previous Recipients

1913.....Robert A. Millikan

1918.....Samuel J. Barnett

1923.....William Duane



1928.....Clinton J. Davisson

In recognition of his experimental work demonstrating that under certain conditions, electrons behave as we would expect trains of waves to behave.

1933.....Percy W. Bridgman

For his investigations leading to increased understanding of the electrical constitution of matter.

1938.....Ernest O. Lawrence

1943.....Donald W. Kerst

For his pioneer work in connection with the development of the betatron and the results which he obtained with this new and powerful scientific tool.

1948.....Merle A.Tuve

For his pioneering work on the upper atmosphere and his development of the electrical pulse method of study; for his pioneering work in nuclear physics utilizing the electrostatic generator; and for his development of the proximity fuse.

1953.....William Shockley

For his pioneering investigations and exposition of electric and magnetic properties of solid materials; in particular for his researches in the conduction of electricity by electrons and holes in semiconductors.

1958.....Charles H. Townes

1963.....C. S. Wu

1968.....Leon N Cooper and J. Robert Schrieffer

1973.....Robert H. Dicke

1978.....Raymond Davis, Jr.

1983.....Theodor W. Hansch and Peter P. Sorokin



1988.....Paul C. W. Chu and Maw-Kuen Wu

For discovery of superconductivity in yttrium barium copper oxide and similar compounds above the boiling point of nitrogen -- a major scientific and technological breakthrough.

1993.....E. L. Hahn (shared)

For his revolutionary discoveries in magnetic resonance and coherent optics, in particular for the Hahn Spin Echo, the Hartman-Hahn Cross-polarization, and self-induced transparency.

1993.....Charles P. Slichter (shared)

For his seminal contributions to the development and application of magnetic resonance in condensed matter, including the first experimental proof of pairing correlations in superconductors and fundamental studies in surface science and catalysis.

1999.....John Clarke

For his major contributions to the development of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS) and their use for scientific measurements, especially involving electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic waves.