Lu named fellow of American Physical Society

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 24, 2007) — Zheng-Tian Lu of Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. The honor recognizes his development of an ultra-sensitive trace analysis technique and its applications to radiokrypton dating and fundamental physics research.

Atom Trap Trace Analysis is able to detect single atoms in a large sample. The technology holds promise for advancing the state of the art in many fields, from nuclear safeguards to Earth climate studies. The technique has been used to determine, for the first time, the age and direction of movement of water in one of the largest underground aquifer in the world. It has also been used to measure the charge radii of short-lived nuclei.

In 2000, Lu won the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the DOE Office of Science Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award.

Lu is a member of the American Physical Society and of the Overseas Chinese Physics Association.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Eleanor Taylor (630/252-5510 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.