November 5, 2025
Congratulations to Heinrich M. Jaeger, the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Physics, the James Franck Institute, and the College, who has received the American Physical Society's 2026 Leo P. Kadanoff Prize.
Jaeger is recognized “for precise experimental contributions that have launched new areas of inquiry and reshaped our understanding of many soft-matter systems, including granular materials and concentrated suspensions, their structure and rheology, and applications such as robotic grippers.”
The Kadanoff Prize was conceived and proposed by the APS Division of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (DSNP) to honor the memory and celebrate the remarkable legacy of Leo Kadanoff. Kadanoff, who served as APS president from 2007–2008, had an enormous impact on statistical and nonlinear physics. He himself was the recipient of many of the field’s most prestigious awards. His influence was broad and his originality deep—broader and deeper than a list of his research papers would suggest. His accessible approach to the renormalization group has been emulated in an array of fields and his lectures and popular writings have inspired a generation of scientists.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” said Jaeger, “particularly because Leo’s unique way of approaching problems and thinking about science profoundly influenced my own development when I first came to UChicago.”
The Kadanoff Prize was established in 2018 with contributions from the family, friends, and collaborators of Leo Kadanoff, and individual donations from a broad spectrum of the American Physical Society. The Prize was fully endowed soon after by a generous gift from an anonymous donor.