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IEEE Dr. James Wong Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions to Applied Superconductor Materials Technology

Award Description: 

Formerly the Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity (Materials), and renamed in 2014, this Award recognizes a living individual for a career of meritorious achievements and outstanding technical contributions in the field of applied superconductor materials technology, over a period of time (nominally more than twenty years) based on novel and innovative concepts and theories proposed by the individual, the authorship or co-authorship of many publications of major significance to the field of applied superconductor materials technology, and the impact that the candidate's contributions have had on the development and maturing of applied superconductivity.  This Award is named for Dr. James Wong who received the IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity in 2011 for his pioneering work in producing commercial grade superconducting cables and conductors. In 1962, Dr. Wong founded Supercon, Inc. which has produced a variety of niobium-titanium and niobium-tin superconducting wires, cables, and conductors for many commercial and research application and has supplied production quantities of high-quality superconducting wire for a longer time than any other company in the world.

Basis of Judging: 

This Award recognizes a living individual for a career of meritorious achievements and outstanding technical contributions in the field of applied superconductor material technology, over a period of time (nominally more than twenty years) based on novel and innovative concepts and theories proposed by the individual, the authorship or co-authorship of many publications of major significance to the field of applied superconductor materials technology, and the impact that the candidate’s contributions have had on the development and maturing of applied superconductivity. This Award is named for Dr. James Wong who received the IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions in the Field of Applied Superconductivity in 2011 for his pioneering work in producing commercial grade superconductor cables and conductors. In 1962, Dr. Wong founded Supercon, Inc. which has produced a variety of niobium-titanium and niobium-tin superconducting wires, cables and conductors for many commercial and research application, and has supplied production quantities of high-quality superconducting wire for a longer time than any other company in the world.

Prize: 

The Award shall consist of the following: (1) a medallion fabricated from niobium, at least six centimeters in diameter and suitably engraved; (2) a suitably inscribed plaque; and, (3) an honorarium of US$ 5,000.

Eligibility: 

The recipient must have been active in the field of applied superconductivity for at least twenty years, and must be able to attend the international conference related to applied superconductivity at which the Award will be made. The recipient does not have to be a member of the IEEE and there shall be no restrictions based on nationality, country of residence, age or gender. An individual may receive only one IEEE Council on Superconductivity sponsored Award for his/her contributions to superconductor materials science and technology.

Nomination Procedure: 

The nomination procedure for this award is available here.

For further information on the Dr. James Wong Award, contact:

Chair, Awards Committee
IEEE Council on Superconductivity

2018 Award Recipient(s)

Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University

For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconducting materials research, in  particular,

  • for development of Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD) method for making textured buffer on flexible metal tapes, paving the way to manufacture HTS tapes in long production length with high mechanical strength required for very high field magnet;
  • for the first demonstration of ternary phase diagram to provide the correlation between in situ growth conditions and thermodynamic stability criteria for YBCO (ReBCO) superconductor, which showed the liquid process was the key in e-beam RCE and subsequent conversion process; and
  • for contributions to control of multi-source co-evaporation of superconducting films, making high-throughput, and cost-effective fabrication of HTS wire possible.

2017 Award Recipient(s)

University of Cambridge

For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductivity materials research, in particular:

  • for the first demonstration of strong pinning enhancement in YBCO-based thin films for coated conductors (using BaZrO3 nanoparticle additions), followed by proposal and demonstration of further improved pinning using group IV and V elemental additions;
  • for the first demonstration of pO2-controlled liquid assisted growth of YBCO conductors, and subsequent advocacy of this method for next 20 + years; and
  • for undertaking and applying basic materials science studies to demonstrate novel ways to induce very effective pinning in MgB2 and (Bi,Pb)-2212.

2016 Award Recipient(s)

The Ohio State University

For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductivity materials research, in particular,

  • for showing that proximity effect coupling between closely spaced fine filaments in multifilamentary NbTi/Cu composites could be suppressed by the addition of Mn to the Cu matrix,
  • for leading the development of NbTi and Nb3Sn Rutherford cables in which cores of selected materials and widths were introduced to control interstrand contact and coupling magnetization,
  • for leading a group that developed the world's first HTS Rutherford cable based on Bi:2212/Ag and that went on to produce long lengths of continuously melt processed Nb3Al strand and hence Nb3Al Rutherford cable, and,
  • for contributions to the understanding and development of practical MgB2 conductors.

Bruker EAS

For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductivity materials research, in particular,

  • development and industrialization of NbTi and Nb3Sn superconductors for fusion, accelerators, MRI and NMR,
  • for contributions to science and technology of NbTi and Nb3Sn conductors resulting in improved conductor performance and industrial manufacturing, and
  • for contributions to development and commercialization of Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 wires and tapes.

2015 Award Recipient(s)

Oxford Superconducting Technology
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductivity materials research, in particular,
  • for his role in achieving engineering current densities of over 3000 A-mm-2 in commercial NbTi at 5 T and 4.2 K,
  • for his work in commercializing ‘wire in channel’ conductors to provide the low cost, high copper conductor needed for MRI,
  • for his work on RRP internal tin Nb3Sn conductors - the first wire to achieve 3000 A-mm-2  at 12 T and 4.2 K, and
  • for developing Bi-2212 round wire, enabling HTS Rutherford cable to be made for future accelerators.

2014 Award Recipient(s)

University of Houston
For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductivity materials research, in particular,
  • for his leadership in the world’s first manufacturing and commercialization of second-generation (2G) HTS wires that culminated in the demonstration the world’s first 2G HTS device  in the electric power grid, 
  • for pioneering numerous technologies in second-generation HTS wires including high throughput thin film deposition processes to fabricate single-crystalline-like films over a kilometer on metal substrates and nanoscale defect engineering for record-high superconductor wire performance, and
  • for conceiving and demonstrating a novel melt-texturing technique that yields large single-domain REBaCuO superconductors with world-record critical current performance, which is being used to manufacture bulk superconductors with very large trapped  magnetic fields.

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University

For continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconducting materials research, in  particular, 

  • for the development of techniques for quantitative digital imaging of defects, flux-pinning sites and chemical composition gradients in niobium-titanium and niobium-3-tin superconductors at all relevant length scales from the atomic to the macroscopic that have enabled significant improvements of their critical current characteristics, and thus enabling conductors  to realize the benchmark values of critical current density required for many emerging applications.

2012 Award Recipient(s)

Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory (Retired)
For continuing and significant contributions to the development of superconducting materials by advancing the science of both low-temperature and high-temperature superconducting materials, in particular:
  • for his many significant theoretical contributions to the electrodynamic behavior of current-carrying superconductors,
  • for applying his theoretical understanding to explain the observed behavior in various applications of superconductivity, both large-scale and small-scale, and,
  • for his service as Science Editor of "High-Tc Update" from 1987 to 2000, when he briefly reviewed and summarized the "tsunami" of papers that  were written following the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity.

2011 Award Recipient(s)

American Superconductor Corporation
For significant and sustained contributions in the development of superconducting conductors, in particular:
 
  • for his co-discovery of “giant flux creep” and the irreversibility line in high temperature superconductors (HTS), and applying these vortex physics concepts in developing practical HTS wires and their applications, and,
  • for his leadership as Chief Technical Officer of American Superconductor Corporation in developing practical conductors and cables from HTS material for commercial applications.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Retired)
For significant and sustained contributions in the development of superconducting cables and conductors for magnet applications, in particular
  • for directing the development of advanced Mn3Sn conductors and the use of this material in the design, construction and testing of the 50 mm bore Nb3Sn dipole magnet which achieved a world record field of 13.5 tesla,
  • for  directing the design and construction of a variety of high field (greater than 10 tesla) magnets for accelerator applications, and,
  • for developing techniques for fabricating Rutherford- type cables (with up to 60 strands) from Bi-2212 high temperature superconducting wires.

Supercon, Inc.
For significant and sustained contributions in the development of low temperature superconducting wires, cables and conductors, in particular:
  • for founding Supercon, Inc. in 1962 which has supplied  production quantities of high-quality superconducting wire for a  longer time than any other firm in the world, and,  
  • for producing a variety of  niobium-titanium and niobium-tin superconducting wires, cables and conductors for many commercial and research application, especially most of the  major accelerator programs.

2010 Award Recipient(s)

University of Cambridge
For significant and sustained contributions in the development of superconducting materials by advancing the science of both low temperature and high temperature superconducting materials, in particular:
  • for making contributions to the subject of flux pinning in Type II superconductors,
  • for authoring, with the late Jan Evetts, the subject-defining monograph on critical currents in superconductors, and,
  • for his leadership of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Superconductivity at the University of Cambridge which promote research across a wide range of superconducting science and technology.

National Institute of Standards and Technology - Boulder
For significant and sustained contributions in the characterization of superconducting materials, in particular:
  • for his pioneering work in the study of strain scaling of the pinning forc in practical superconductors,
  • for his insightful postulation of a unified (strain, temperature and magnetic field) scaling law,
  • for his discovery of the method of making practical low-resistivity electrical contacts to high-Tc oxide superconductors, which is now the prevailing contact method for HTS materials,
  • for authoring the book entitled "Experimental Techniques for Low Temperature Measurements", which has become the standard reference book for electrical measurements at cryogenic temperatures.

2008 Award Recipient(s)

Brookhaven National Laboratory
For significant and sustained contributions in the development of superconducting materials by advancing the science of both low temperature and high temperature superconducting materials, in particular,
  • for establishing key synthesis-microstructure-property  relationships of the bronze route process used to make the first industrial niobium-tin superconducting wires
  • for establishing the interdependence of strain and properties of A-15 superconductors  for establishing and optimizing the nucleation and growth kinetics of Bi(2223)/Ag and YBCO conductors, and
  • for contributions to the understanding of ac losses and flux pinning in these materials.

2006 Award Recipient(s)

Georg-August Universitaet Goettingen; Zentrum fuer Funktionswerkstoffe Goettingen gGmBH

For outstanding and sustained contributions in the field of superconducting materials and conductors; in particular:

  • for his early work on the role of dislocations and precipitates on flux pinning in low temperature superconducting materials
  • for the development of innovative powder metallurgical technologies
  • for the processing of A-15 superconductors
  • for pioneering the use of Ion- Beam-Assisted-Deposition (IBAD) techniques for the preparation of YBCO tapes and coated conductors and encouraging programs for the development of coated conductor employing yttrium-barium-copper-oxide (YBCO) technology, and
  • for playing an important role in organizing many very influential workshops on flux pinning and processing of low and high temperature superconductors and, subsequently, chairing the initial European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS)

2005 Award Recipient(s)

University of Geneva

For outstanding and sustained contributions in the field of superconducting materials and conductors; in particular:

  • for his early seminal work on the effect of atomic ordering on the electronic properties of A15 compounds and his contribution to the phase diagram of Nb3Sn
  • for proposing the unique link between materials science and practical conductor engineering that led to the decisive enhancement of the critical currents in Nb3Sn wires in view of NMR applications at very high magnetic fields
  • for his significant research on high temperature superconductors, in particular Bi,Pb-2223
  • for his developments in MgB2, and
  • for training generations of students and young researchers in his laboratory at the University of Geneva

2004 Award Recipient(s)

The Arizona State University

For significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconductor electronic materials, devices and circuits; in particular:

  • for his pioneering observation of the Josephson Effect
  • for the development of tunneling spectroscopy
  • for the invention of the niobium-aluminum/aluminum oxide-niobium Josephson tunnel junction configuration which has been adopted throughout the world for fabricating low temperature superconductor circuits
  • for his leadership of materials and device research groups working on superconductor electronics at Bell Laboratories, Bellcore and Conductus, Inc.
  • for his continuing insight into the crucial materials issues associated with superconductor electronics
  • and for promoting research into the properties of various thin film materials systems for superconductor electronic applications.

2002 Award Recipient(s)

University of Cambridge

For significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconducting materials, in particular:

  • for his pioneering work in flux pinning and critical currents
  • for co-authorship of the classic textbook on flux pinning and its dependence on microstructure
  • for his leadership role in Superconducting studies at the University of Cambridge

Supergenics; LLC Hyper Tech Research, Inc.

For significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconducting materials, in particular:

  • for his pioneering work in developing high critical current density in niobium-titanium conductors
  • for his leadership in the commercialization, by a number of industrial companies, of multi-filamentary conductors of niobium-titanium and, later, of niobum-3-tin for many high energy physics accelerator projects, including the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) and many fusion projects including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

2000 Award Recipient(s)

Tokai University

For significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconducting materials: in particular,

  • the pioneering research in innovative and intelligent materials processing techniques for the formation of superconducting wires and tapes,
  • leading to the development of new high-field superconductors that incorporates useful intermetallic compounds.

Florida State University

For significant and continuing contributions in the field of superconductive materials:

  • leading to the identification of microstructural features that resulted in dramatic increases in the superconducting critical current density:
  • in particular, for the identification and optimization of magnetic flux pinning centers and the identification and minimization of deleterious defects in superconducting wires and tapes.