The Honors and Awards Committee of the ILCS selected Dr. Beller for his thesis work:
For his outstanding theoretical work to identify the rich
possibilities and outcomes of controlling defects in nematic and smectic liquid
crystals under a variety of boundary conditions. The demonstration of the well controlled disclinations
and focal conics is expected to open up a novel route for self-assembly in soft-ordered
materials.
You can read more about the prize on the ILCS website: http://www.lcinet.kent.edu/ILCS/main/page101/page113/page21/page21.html