William D. Phillips

Biography

Abstract

William Phillips is Distinguished University Professor at University of Maryland (2001-present). Other institutional affiliations include the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research interests include laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms, quantum information with single-atom qubits, atomic-gas Bose-Einstein condensates, atoms in optical lattices, atomic physics analogs of condensed matter systems, coherent deBroglie-wave atom optics, and collisions of ultracold atoms. In 1997, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji.

Important Dates

November 5, 1948Birth, Wilkes-Barre (Pa.).

1970Obtained BS in Physics, Juniata College, Huntingdon (Pa.).

1976Obtained PhD in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1976 – 1978Chaim Weizmann Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1978 – 1988Physicist, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg (Md.).

1988 – presentPhysicist (1988-1996); Leader, Laser Cooled and Trapped Atoms Group, Atomic Physics Division (1990-1996; 1998-present); and Fellow (1996-present), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg (Md.).

1989 – 1990Visiting Professor, École Normale Supérieure.

1992 – presentAdjunct Professor of Physics (1992-2001) and Distinguished University Professor (2001-present), University of Maryland, College Park (Md.).

1997Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji "for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light".

1997Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1998Awarded Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, American Physical Society.

2002 – 2003George Eastman Visiting Professor, Oxford University.

Occupation

Atomic physicist.

Places

Birth

Wilkes-Barre (Pa.)

Undergraduate Education

Huntingdon (Pa.)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Gaithersburg (Md.)

College Park (Md.)

Subjects

Atomic and molecular physics.

Condensed matter.

Relationships

People

Family

Phillips, William Cornelius

Father.

Savino, Mary Catherine

Mother.

Van Wynen, Jane

Wife. Married in 1970.

Advisors & Collaborators

Chu, Steven

Shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji "for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light".

Cohen-Tannoudji, Claude

Shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Steven Chu "for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light".

Kleppner, Daniel

PhD advisor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "I.The magnetic moment of the proton in H2O ; II.Inelastic collisions in excited Na." and both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Colleagues

Benedek, George Bernard, 1928-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bergquist, James Charles

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Coppi, B.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Cornell, Eric Allin, 1961-

Both employed at National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Drake, James (James F.)

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Enge, Harald A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Feshbach, Herman

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fisher, Michael E. (Michael Ellis)

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Gates, S. James

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Girvin, Steven M.

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Goldstone, Jeff Alan

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Griem, Hans R.

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Hall, J. L. (John L.), 1934-

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Jackiw, Roman W.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Joannopoulos, J. D. (John D.), 1947-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Julienne, Paul S.

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Kastner, Marc A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Klebanoff, P. S.

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Langenberg, D. N., 1932-

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Lax, Benjamin

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Livingston, M. Stanley (Milton Stanley)

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Misner, Charles W.

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Morse, Philip M. (Philip McCord), 1903-1985

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Porkolab, Miklos

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Sagdeev, R. Z.

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Shull, Clifford Glenwood

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ting, S. C. C. (Samuel Chao-chung), 1936-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Webb, R. A. (Richard Alan)

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Weiss, Rainer

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Williams, Ellen D.

Both employed at University of Maryland.

Wineland, David J.

Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Institutions

Major Positions

National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.)

Physicist; Fellow; and Leader, Lased Cooled and Trapped Atoms Group, Atomic Physics Division.

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Physicist.

University of Maryland at College Park. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Adjunct Professor of Physics and Distinguished University Professor.

University of Oxford. Department of Physics

George Eastman Visiting Professor.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Received 1998 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science.

École normale supérieure (France)

Visiting Professor.

Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.)

Obtained BS in Physics (1970).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD (1976). Chaim Weizmann Fellow.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Almost absolute zero [videorecording] : the story of laser cooling and trapping / William D. Phillips.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lemelson Center Innovative Lives Program collection, 1995-2005.

Archives Center

Smithsonian Institution. National Museum of American History

MRC 601, 12th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20560, USA

Nobel Voices Videohistory Project collection, 2000-2001.

Archives Center

Smithsonian Institution. National Museum of American History

MRC 601, 12th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20560, USA

Subject

American Institute of Physics Physics Today division Bertram Schwarzschild Nobel Prize files, 1954-2013.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Nobel Prize Autobiography