2006 News Release
A tribute to Kim Egiyan, colleague, JLab staff scientist, internationally known physicist
Kim Egiyan
Dear Elionora, family members, friends of Kim. We are here to celebrate the life of Kim Egiyan, a remarkable man, and notable scientist. My name is Volker Burkert, I am the head of the group at Jefferson Laboratory, Kim Egiyan was most closely associated with. I have known Kim since the year 1986 when we he was invited to a scientific workshop in Newport News, to discuss the research program at future electron accelerators. At that time the Laboratory that is now called Jefferson Lab, was poised to build the first electron accelerator in the world that is fully based on superconducting technology. CEBAF, as the accelerator was called, promised to have the highest quality electron beam in the world, and there was the expectation of having the instrumentation available for experiments requiring the detection of the many particles produced in electron-nucleus collisions.
It soon became clear to Kim that CEBAF provided the ideal conditions for the physics he had dedicated much of his professional life to, the study of Short Distance Phenomena in atomic nuclei. One of the most fundamental problems in nuclear physics for decades has been to understand why atomic nuclei do not collapse under the attractive force of the nucleons, in other words, what is the nature of the force that prevents the atomic nuclei in the stars and the earth from simply collapsing. The only way to understand this scientifically was to postulate a repulsive force that counteracts the attractive force when nucleons come close to each other. While this was generally accepted as being at the core of nuclear stability, there was little direct experimental evidence that the so-called Short Range Correlations were indeed the correct explanation, and their properties could only be estimated in theoretical models.
It seemed quite natural for Kim to form a collaboration of his colleagues from the Yerevan Physics Institute in Armenia, and physicists working at the planned CEBAF to study this fundamental aspect of nuclear physics. This collaboration was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding between CEBAF and the Nuclear Physics Community in the then Soviet Union, with Kim Egiyan being the spokesman on the Soviet side. The collapse of the Soviet Union caused the collaboration to split into 3 separate units, however, owing to Kim the Armenian part of the collaboration continued and remained strong to this day.
With the acceptance in 1989 of the physics proposal to study these nuclear phenomena, the involvement of the Yerevan side increased significantly under the Kim's leadership, and involved numerous senior and junior researchers, many of whom are present here today. Several PhD projects of Armenian scientists were involved in the preparation of the physics program, and the design and construction of large scale particle detectors. Such a strong involvement of the Yerevan nuclear physics groups was instrumental in preserving the broad knowledge and expertise in nuclear physics accumulated at the Yerevan Physics Institute over the decades, and which was now in danger to be lost due to the dramatic drop in funding levels for the institute after the collapse of the Soviet Union. By establishing a strong presence of Armenian nuclear physicists in the United States, Kim helped pave the way for many young Armenian scientists to be able to look forward to a bright future in nuclear physics.
Kim has been an authority in experimental nuclear physics. His long-term research on electron nucleus scattering experiments first home in Yerevan, and later at Jefferson Lab in Newport News, has borne fruits in the beautiful observation, and the quantitative determination of the elusive short range correlations. These results are widely discussed by experts in the field and have spawned new experimental proposals. An article in the November 2005 issue of the CERN Courier, was dedicated to this research let by Kim. CERN is the world largest international research center for particle physics. The article states:
"Scientists believe that the crushing forces in the core of neutron stars squeeze nucleons so tightly that they may blur together. Recently, an experiment by Kim Egiyan and colleagues (in Hall B) at the US Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab caught a glimpse of this extreme environment in ordinary matter here on Earth."
Kim, through many years of dedication to nuclear science, his own research, and through his efforts to preserve the future of nuclear science in Armenia, has greatly served the scientific community in his home country. This was recognized by the Armenian state who bestowed him with the (Anania Shirakatsi Medal,) highest honor for scientific, technological and economical achievements in Armenia. He was recently also nominated for membership in the prestigious Armenian Academy of Science.
Kim and Elionora came back to Newport News in 2003 to stay for a period of 3 years, where Kim had an invitation as Visiting Scientist that would later become a Staff Scientist position at Jefferson Lab. Upon arrival, while handing me the bottle of good Armenian cognac that he always brought when returning to the United States from Armenia, he explained that his plan for the 3 year stay at the Lab was to complete 3 research projects that would further clarify the nature of the nuclear force. By the middle of 2005 he had completed and published results of two of these projects. He had nearly completed his 3rd project when his health conditions worsened dramatically. Despite this he continued to work diligently on completing what he considered as part of his legacy. He was not able to bring this work to full completion, and left it to the younger generation of researchers, several of whom now hold positions at Jefferson Lab or at American Universities, to continue what Kim was not able to complete.
The nuclear science community lost with Kim a scientist with vision, rigor, and determination. The young generation lost a great teacher, and we all lost a friend. His work will live on in what he brought to science and to the younger generation of scientists, and Kim will live on in our hearts and fond memories of a kind and generous man.
Volker Burkert
Hall B Leader
Jefferson Lab
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