Artuso elected fellow of American Physical Society

Artuso elected fellow of American Physical SocietyJanuary 10, 2008Rob Enslinrmenslin@syr.edu

Marina Artuso, physics professor in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the prestigious American Physical Society (APS) for her substantial and far-reaching contributions to physics. According to the APS citation, Artuso was elected for achievements in building both Ring Imaging Cerenkov detectors (RICH) and silicon detectors for high-energy experiments and for the study of heavy quark decays.

An expert in experimental elementary particle physics, Artuso focuses on “beauty quarks,” which are exotic molecules that enable scientists to investigate the micro-world, as well as the origin and history of the universe. Much of her research is conducted at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring facility, where she is part of a major collaborative experiment called CLEO. Artuso also belongs to a team of international scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (commonly known as CERN), the world’s largest particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. At CERN, she and other SU physicists recently installed the fragile precision silicon detector of the Large Hardon Collider beauty (LHCb), an experiment investigating why the universe is full of matter instead of an equal mix of matter and antimatter. Artuso also serves as co-director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program at SU.

The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who have made advances in knowledge through original research and publication, or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. Each year, no more than one-half of one percent of the society membership is elected as fellows in the APS.

“Ten of our 25 full-time faculty members are APS fellows,” says SU physics chair M. Cristina Marchetti. “The high percentage of fellows is indicative of the high quality of our faculty.” Other APS fellows at SU include A.P. Balachandran, Mark Bowick, Marchetti, Peter Saulson, Joseph Schecter, Tomaz Skwarnicki, Paul Souder, Sheldon Stone and Gianfranco Vidali, as well as numerous emeriti faculty members.