The degree recipient is an outstanding theoretical physicist, whose main area of research is the theory of elementary interactions.
On 6 June 2016 the Jagiellonian University awarded an honorary doctorate to Prof. Larry McClerran, an outstanding theoretical physicist, whose main area of research is the theory of elementary interactions. He has authored many pioneering works, the most important of which concern:
- wave functions of atomic nuclei and protons during high energy collisions referred to as the Colour Glass Condensate model
- non-linear evolution equation describing the value changes of the wave function of colliding particles together with the increase in the energy of the collision
- works dedicated to the research into collisions of heavy atomic nuclei and a new state of matter, the so-called quark-gluon plasma, emerging from them.
Prof. McLerran was born in 1949 and obtained a PhD degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has worked at the leading US research centres, including the Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he is currently employed. His scientific papers and monographs have been cited more than 20 thousand times.
The honorary degree conferment ceremony, which took place in Collegium Maius Assembly Hall, was led by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University Prof. Wojciech Nowak.
The laudatory address was delivered by Prof. Michał Praszałowicz, head of the Particle Theory Department at the JU Institute of Physics. In his speech listing Prof. Mc Lerran's achievements, Prof. Praszałowicz stressed that "his papers not only initiated and developed new concepts, but also introduced very particular terms to the language of high-energy theoretical physics", such as Coulour Glass Condensate, glasma and quarkyonic matter, to mention only some examples.
The honorary doctorate is the most important of the titles conferred by the Jagiellonian University. It can be awarded by the university's Senate for extraordinary research achievements, widely acknowledged moral and academic authority, as well as outstanding contribution to art and literature.
The list of JU honorary doctorate recipients is available here.
