Frédéric Mila wins 2024 Charpak-Ritz Prize
Professor Frédéric Mila. Credit: EPFL
Professor Frédéric Mila at EPFL has won the 2024 Charpak-Ritz Prize for his groundbreaking work in the theory of strongly correlated systems.
The Charpak-Ritz Prize is jointly awarded each year by the French and Swiss Physical Societies to physicists who have made outstanding contributions to the field, also highlighting the tight relationship between the two societies. Named after physicists Georges Charpak (French) and Wolfgang Ritz (Swiss), the prestigious award celebrates excellence in physics, fostering a deeper understanding of the physical world.
This year, the Charpak-Ritz Prize has been bestowed upon Professor Frédéric Mila, a distinguished condensed matter theorist at EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences.
Mila is recognized “for his contributions to the theory of strongly correlated systems, in particular for the successful analysis of several experimental results in systems ranging from high-temperature superconducting cuprates to frustrated quantum magnets thanks to a thorough investigation of various strongly correlated models and to a close collaboration with experimental groups.”
With a foundation in both experimental and theoretical physics, Mila's journey began with his PhD at Saclay, focusing on surface phonons. His postdoctoral work at ETH Zürich under Maurice Rice led to significant developments in understanding high-temperature superconducting cuprates. His innovative model of hyperfine coupling in these materials not only provided a deeper insight into their magnetic properties but also supported the one-band description of these materials, a theory further confirmed by subsequent NMR experiments.
Mila's research interests later expanded to the study of Mott insulators, where he developed groundbreaking theories on the magnetic properties of these materials. His work on the kagome spin-1/2 Heisenberg model and on the spin-1/2 ladders has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of these complex systems.
Since joining EPFL in 2000, Mila has emerged as a leader in the field of frustrated magnetism. His collaborative efforts with international experimental groups have been pivotal in uncovering new phenomena such as magnetization plateaus in 2D Mott insulators.
Mila is also involved in founding the “Highly Frustrated Magnet” program of the European Science Foundation and is a co-editor of the authoritative book on Frustrated Magnetism.
“It is a great pleasure and a distinct honor to be awarded jointly by the Swiss and French Physical Societies,” says Mila. “Without the continuous support from both countries over the years, nothing would have been possible.”