European Physical Society Plasma Physics Innovation Prize “for technological, industrial or societal applications of research in plasma physics”
The EPS Innovation Prize was established in 2008 by the EPS Plasma Physics Division to recognise and promote the wider benefits to society that arise from the applications of plasma physics research. The work recognised in previous years is diverse. Nominations are welcome from all areas of technology, industry, society or more. Recent awards have included applications in medicine and materials processing.
The prize is awarded for proven applications that can go beyond, but are derived from, plasma physics research. Joint awards are also possible and can be submitted from a group of up to three individuals.
The Call for Nominations for the 2025 EPS Plasma Physics Innovation Prize will be announced here in due course.
Previous award winners
| Year | Winner(s) |
| 2024 | Dr Anthony Murphy (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia) for outstanding thermal plasma R&D with significant impact on industry and research, including critical contributions to the first commercial plasma waste treatment process, development of arc welding software for manufacturers, and calculation of thermophysical properties adopted worldwide in computational models of industrial plasma processes |
| 2022 | Dr Ane Aanesland, Dr Dmytro Rafalskyi and Javier Martínez Martínez (ThrustMe, France) for technological, industrial or societal applications of research in plasma physics; they successfully pioneered the use of iodine-fuelled plasma-based electric propulsion systems for satellites. Iodine is a transformative alternative propellant to xenon, has been recently demonstrated in orbit, and has the potential to ensure the economic and environmental sustainability of the space industry |
| 2019 | Hana Barankova and Ladislav Bardos (Angström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden) for their significant contributions to the fundamental understanding, and to novel designs, of hollow cathodes and new processes leading to enhanced performance of functional thin films, as well as to novel work on environmental protection by the conversion of hazardous gases, and on the reduction of energy consumption in industrial processes by means of plasma technology |
| 2018 | Arutiun Ehiasarian (Sheffield Hallam University) for the use of plasma physics in coating technology and engineering, through seminal contributions to the science and industrial applications of High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering for substrate pre-treatment and deposition of coatings and thin films |
| 2017 | Michel Moisan (Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada) for pioneering contributions to the development and understanding of microwave plasma sources and their applications to materials processing, healthcare and environmental protection |
| 2016 | Klaus-Dieter Weltmann and Thomas von Woedtke (Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, Germany) for their pioneering work in the field of plasma medicine |
| 2014 | Christoph Hollenstein for instrumental contributions to the field of Plasma Processes in Industry and for his strong impact in spin-off activities of fusion R&D |
| 2012 | Eugen Stamate for the discovery of the modal and discrete focusing effects associated with three-dimensional plasma-sheath-lenses that contributed to ion beam extraction, mass spectrometry, control of the ion flux on substrates and the development of new sensors for plasma and sheath parameters |
| 2011 | Alexander Litvak, Keishi Sakamoto and Manfred Kaspar Andreas Thumm for outstanding contributions to the realization of high power gyrotron for multi-megawatt long-pulse electron cyclotron heating and current drive on magnetic confinement nuclear plasma devices |
| 2010 | Uwe Czarnetzki for his outstanding contributions in the discovery of the Electrical Asymmetry Effect, its scientific characterization and for its development up to the level of successful industrial application |
| 2009 |
Emmanuel Marode for breakthrough developments and applications of basic plasma physics tools to address environmental concern see also EuroPhysics News 41/1 (2010) 04 |
| 2008 | John Allen and Beatrice Annaratone for their invention of a plasma heating scheme used in an RF plasma reactor, where plasma heating is implemented using the plasma series resonance |