2011 IBA Prize Laureate

The board of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2011 IBA-Europhysics prize for Applied Nuclear Science and Nuclear Methods and Nuclear Researches in Medicine is Dr Elisabetta Boaretto, Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Lab, Bar Ilan University and Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

Dr Boaretto has been awarded the prize in recognition of her significant contribution to the development of precise quality controlled radiocarbon dating and the application of accelerator mass spectrometry techniques to the field of archaeology.

Elisabetta Boaretto has pioneered the integrative approach to Radiocarbon dating in archaeology. Her projects involve extensive field work in order to collect the best possible samples for dating and to identify the best archaeological context.

She has developed novel field applicable pre-screening techniques that can be applicable in the excavations which focus the research on well defined archaeological context and sample material.

She has also introduced the use of Infrared and Raman spectroscopy for sample characterization and quality control. These methods not only increase the analytical precision and accuracy of the radiocarbon date but by relating this information to the context, a deeper understanding of the archaeology is obtained. These methods are now being used by many laboratories throughout the world.

Dr Boaretto has conducted research on understanding the structure and preservation of charred materials that are extensively used for dating. She has applied her expertise to carrying out a high resolution sub-century dating study of the Iron Age (ca. 1200-600 BC) in Israel, impacting the biblical chronology. This study resulted in developing a new approach for the selection of samples from archaeological excavations.

Dr Boaretto led the dating of a cave site, Yuchanianin Hunan (China). The study involved analyzing the cave stratigraphy, prescreening bones and charcoal, and finally the results showed that the ceramics were produced around 18,000 years ago; the oldest in the world to date.

A recent study documented the earliest appearance of Modern Homo sapiens in the Levant 46,000 years ago. For this purpose, a short excavation was carried out at Kebara Cave, Israel. This was followed by extensive characterization of the charcoal structure and preservation.

Dr Boaretto has set new standards for cross-disciplinary research and her work has set a new agenda for radiocarbon dating in archaeology.

The 2011 IBA-Europhysics Prize was presented to Dr Boaretto by Mr Yves Jongen, Chief Research Officer of the Ion Beam Applications Company (IBA) of Louvain-la-Neuve, which sponsors the prize at a ceremony on 30th May during the first International Conference on Advances in Radioactive Isotope Science, ARIS 2011, held in Leuven, Belgium. Dr Douglas MacGregor, Chair of the IBA Prize Committee and Secretary of the EPS Nuclear Physics Division, presented a diploma on behalf of the EPS.

Dr Boaretto receives her Diploma and Prize. Dr MacGregor (left), Dr Boaretto (centre) and Mr Jongen (right).

Dr Douglas MacGregor, Chair of the IBA Prize committee, congratulating the winner, Dr Elisabetta Boaretto.

Dr MacGregor, Chair of the Prize committee, introducing the Prize winner.

Mr Yves Jongen, IBA company, speaking at the prize cermony.

Dr Boaretto thanking the EPS Nuclear Physics Division

Photographs of the prize award ceremony are kindly provided by Rob Stevens, Leuven University (© Rob Stevens).