Prof. Sekazi Mtingwa

Sekazi Kauze Mtingwa is an Administrative Judge with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Principal Partner of TriSEED Consultants.  He played an important role in the construction of accelerator systems at Fermilab used to discover the top quark.  He co-developed the theory of intrabeam scattering, which has played a critical role in the development of intense particle accelerators, including synchrotron light sources, which are transforming many scientific and engineering disciplines.  Mtingwa co-founded approximately 30 organizations and programs, including the U.S. National Society of Black Physicists, African Physical Society, African Light Source Foundation, African Laser Centre, Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology in Tanzania, and LAAAMP, which promotes the utilization of synchrotron light sources and crystallography in developing countries.  He served as Editor-in-Chief of the African Light Source Geopolitical Conceptual Design Report and is currently President of InCREASE, which connects faculty and students from Minority-Serving Institutions in the U.S. to research and training opportunities at the national laboratories. 

Mtingwa received the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s 2023 Philip Hauge Abelson Prize for his many contributions to scientific research and policy, International Science Council’s 2021 Policy-for-Science Award, American Physical Society’s (APS) 2017 Robert R. Wilson Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators, APS 2025 John Wheatley Award for his international work, 2017 U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, and the American Nuclear Society’s 2015 Distinguished Service Award for his pivotal role in leading a study that rejuvenated U.S. university nuclear science and engineering programs.  Mtingwa has been promoting the establishment of synchrotron light sources and crystallography research and training hubs in Africa and the Global South.  He received Bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics from MIT, and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in theoretical high energy physics from Princeton University.