Giacinto Scoles, Donner Professor of Science at Princeton University, and Professor at the Departments of Biophysics and Condensed Matter Physics at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, has been awarded the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics. He shares the Medal with J. Peter Toennies, Associate Professor, Department of Physics University of GÃ¶ttingen, Germany, and Former Director of the Max-Planck-Institut fÃ¼r Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, GÃ¶ttingen, Germany.
The award is being given to Scoles and Toennies for their development of new techniques for studying molecules, by embedding them in extremely small and ultra-cold droplets of helium. Their work has led to a better understanding of the extraordinary properties of superfluid helium, including its ability to flow without friction.
Scoles has lectured at ICTP on numerous occasions since 1988 and has been course director of the Stig Lundqvist Conferences. The Medal is awarded by the Franklin Institute.