Making Sense of Turbulence

Turbulence is ubiquitous to many flows in nature, but a complete understanding of the phenomenon and its effects remain elusive. The 2012 ICTP Prize recognized the work of Argentinean physicist Pablo Mininni, professor at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), whose research has advanced the understanding of fluid and magnetofluid turbulence at a fundamental theoretical level and contributed to a range of applications in astrophysics and atmospheric sciences.

"I really feel honoured to receive this prize. It means a lot to me," said Mininni, speaking at the ceremony held at ICTP on 8 July 2013. "The first time I was here at ICTP was as a PhD student [to attend a school in plasma physics]. ICTP has played an important role in my career," he said. He added that he met his postdoctoral supervisors during his visits to ICTP.

Mininni's scientific talk at the ceremony focused on his recent research endeavours that focus on helicity. In fluid mechanics, helicity is the property of a moving fluid representing the extent to which the fluid motion follows a helical pattern. Mininni had stated that more recently, he had become interested in mechanisms that give rise to the generation of helical (non-mirror symmetric) flows in stratified turbulence, a problem that can be relevant for atmospheric and geophysical systems.

When he was selected as the winner of the 2012 ICTP Prize, Mininni said that the ICTP Prize is especially encouraging because it "comes from ICTP, an institution with a central commitment to the development of science in developing countries."

The ICTP Prize was created in 1982. It recognizes young scientists (under 40) from developing countries who work and live in those countries and who have made outstanding and original contributions to physics or mathematics. The prize includes a sculpture, certificate and a cash award of €3,000. To view the full citation of Mininni's award, as well as a list of past winners, see the ICTP Prize webpage.

Each year, the ICTP Prize is given in honour of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the field in which the prize is given. The 2012 ICTP Prize honours Marshall N. Rosenbluth (1927-2003), an American plasma physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. He made contributions to discoveries in controlled thermonuclear fusion, plasma physics, and computational statistical mechanics. Harry Swinney, director of the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the University of Texas at Austin, gave a talk on the life and achievements of Rosenbluth at the prize ceremony.

The EyA recording of Mininni's talk on The Role of Helicity in Turbulent Flows is available on ICTP.tv.