November 27, 2023 | The renowned X-ray prize from the Justus Liebig University of Giessen (JLU) goes to the physicist Dr. Roy Shiloh from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen (FAU) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Pfeiffer Vacuum and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation are jointly donating the prize money of 15,000 euros. The JLU has been awarding the prize since 1960 in memory of the Nobel Prize winner Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who worked as a professor in Giessen from 1879 to 1888.
Dr. Shiloh receives the prize for his outstanding research on the topic of “nanophotonic electron acceleration”. For over 125 years, X-ray sources for medical and other applications have been based on the principle of electron acceleration in a vacuum. Building on this principle, Dr. Shiloh show that electrons in nanophotonic structures can be actively guided using optical fields. Using a new method, he succeeded in creating the world’s first particle accelerator on a microchip. The day before the award ceremony, the scientist visited the donor company Pfeiffer Vacuum and reported on his findings.
Daniel Sälzer, Managing Director of Pfeiffer Vacuum, congratulated the award winner: “It is very important for Pfeiffer Vacuum to promote cutting-edge research and especially young scientists. We are very pleased that we have been sponsoring the Röntgen Prize together with the Ludwig Schunk Foundation for several decades.”
The award winner’s research work requires a lot of technical know-how, sophisticated simulations and the most precise nanofabrication. Dr. As part of his research, Shiloh has developed a new method for electron acceleration that could be of great importance for future practical implementation and commercial use.
“This method could enable the construction of innovative and very compact X-ray devices for clinical purposes in the future,” emphasized Prof. Dr. Markus Thoma (I. Physics Institute) for the JLU expert committee.
Dr. Shiloh studied physics and electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University and received his doctorate there in 2018. At FAU he spent four years as a postdoc in the working group of Prof. Dr. Peter Hommelhof conducted research and is now an assistant professor at Jerusalem University.
