Author: Silvia Nicolai

The Nuclear Physics Board of the European Physical Society has awarded the 2020 IBA-Europhysics Prize to Professor Thomas Haberer, scientific and technical director of the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center at the Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany.

The prize was motivated by Prof. Haberer’s “outstanding scientific discoveries and innovative technological breakthroughs in the use of high energy accelerators and heavy ion beams for the Heavy Ion Cancer therapy”.

Prof. Haberer has devoted his scientific career to the interdisciplinary field of ion-beam tumor therapy. In particular, he introduced a crucial innovation in particle therapy: the raster-scan technique. It consists of a method to deliver the dose that focuses the relativistic ion beams down to pencil size, and scans them over the volume of the tumor. This method allows the full clinical exploitation of the advantageous properties of ion beams, as the highly efficient stopping ions are guided into the target volume only, thus sparing healthy tissue and organs close to the tumor. In the initial phases of Prof. Haberer’s research, raster-scanned carbon beams were produced at the Germany's Heavy Ion Research Center, GSI, to treat, with excellent clinical outcomes, more than 400 patients predominantly suffering from tumors at the base of the skull. Afterwards, the first hospital-based ion-beam therapy center at the Heidelberg University Hospital (Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center, HIT) was established, following the specifications of Dr. Haberer and the principles of the raster-scan method. Since 2009, roughly 6000 patients have been treated at HIT’s fix beam lines, using its world-unique gantry with proton and carbon pencil beams. HIT’s research infrastructure allows for the constant development of the technology for ion-beam treatments. In particular, it recently saw the introduction of novel treatment protocols based on helium and oxygen beams. Today the beam scanning technology is widely adopted in the field of particle therapy.

The award ceremony of the 2020 IBA prize is planned to take place during the Applied Nuclear Physics Conference (Prague, September 12-17, 2021). 

Thomas Haberer in-front of an ion source at HIT - Image: T. Haberer

The board of the European Physical Society (EPS) Nuclear Physics Division calls for nominations for the 2015 IBA-Europhysics Prize, sponsored by IBA Group, Belgium. The award will be made to one or several individuals for outstanding contributions to Applied Nuclear Science and Nuclear Methods and Nuclear Researches in Medicine.

The board welcomes proposals which represent the breadth and strength of Applied Nuclear Science and Nuclear Methods in Medicine in Europe.

Nominations forms should be accompanied by a brief CV of the nominee(s) and a list of relevant publications. Up to two letters of support from authorities in the field, outlining the importance of the work would also be helpful. Nominations will be treated in confidence and, although they will be acknowledged, there will be no further communication.

Nominations should be submitted by e-mail to Douglas MacGregor, Chair IBA Prize Committee: douglas.macgregor@glasgow.ac.uk

The deadline for submission of nominations is 16 January 2015.

Nomination forms can be downloaded FROM HERE.

This call can be downloaded as a PDF file FROM HERE.

Prize rules:

1. The Prize shall be awarded every two years.
2. The Prize shall consist of a Diploma of the EPS and a total prize money of EUR 5000 (to be shared if more than one laureate).
3. The money for the prize is provided by IBA Group, Belgium.
4. The Prize shall be awarded to one or more researchers.
5. The Prize shall be awarded without restrictions of nationality, sex, race or religion.
6. Only work that has been published in refereed journals can be considered in the proposals for candidates to the prize.
7. The board of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division shall request nominations to the Prize from experts in Nuclear Science and related fields who are not members of the Board.
8. Self-nominations for the award shall not be accepted.
9. Nominations shall be reviewed by a Prize Committee appointed by the board. The Committee shall consider each eligible nomination and make recommendations to the board, taking into account reports of referees who are not members of the board.
10. The final recommendation of the board and a report shall be submitted for ratification to the Executive Committee of the EPS.

Douglas MacGregor
Chair EPS Nuclear Physics Division