EPJ H Editor Helge Kragh receives 2019 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics

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Published on 06 May 2019

The Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics is given annually to recognize outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics.

Helge Kragh, who is an Editor of EPJ H and author of the recently published SpringerBriefs “From Transuranic to Superheavy Elements - A Story of Dispute and Creation”, received the 2019 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics for "influential contributions to the history of physics, especially analyses of cosmological theories and debates, the history of the quantum physics of elementary particles and the solid state, and biographical studies of Paul Dirac and Niels Bohr, and his early quantum atom".

Helge Kragh graduated in physics and chemistry from the University of Copenhagen. He holds doctoral degrees from Roskilde University (dr. scient.) and from the University of Aarhus (dr. phil.). He served as associate professor at Cornell University and as professor of history of science at the University of Oslo and at the University of Aarhus. Since his retirement he is professor emeritus at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

Helge Kragh has worked on the history of the physical sciences including chemistry and astronomy, often with an emphasis on interdisciplinary connections such as physical chemistry, astrophysics and astrochemistry. He is a member of the European Society for History of Science, the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and several other professional societies. He has been on the advisory board for the Gruber Cosmology Prize and received prizes and awards from the European Physical Society and the American Chemical Society.