Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics

Institutional History

Abstract

Founded in 1962 as a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology). It is located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. The Laboratory's research quickly expanded beyond astrophysics to include topics such as atomic, molecular and optical physics, biophysics, quantum information, precision measurement, and others.

Important Dates

1962Founded as a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and National Bureau of Standards, Boulder (Colo.).

1962 – 1969Lewis Branscomb was on staff.

1962 – 2002Gordon Dunn was on staff.

1963 – 1970Edward Condon was on staff.

1964 – presentJohn L. Hall has been on staff.

1976Decision was made to allow the purpose and role of the institute to expand beyond its original scope.

1985 – 2013Carl Wieman was on staff.

1989 – 2011Chris Greene was on staff.

1990 – presentEric Cornell has been on staff.

1995Name was officially changed to JILA to include all the various topics researched, Boulder (Colo.).

1995 – presentDeborah Jin has been on staff.

1999 – presentMargaret Murnane has been on staff.

1999 – presentJun Ye has been on staff.

Places

Headquarters

Boulder (Colo.)

Subjects

Astrophysics.

Atomic and molecular physics.

Biophysics.

Optics.

Physical laboratories.

Citations

From JILA: The First 50 Years (http://jila.colorado.edu/publications/jila/history)

Relationships

People

Employees & Officers

Bederson, Benjamin

Visiting Fellow.

Biondi, Manfred Anthony, 1924-

Visiting Fellow.

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Fellow and Chair.

Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974

Fellow.

Cornell, Eric Allin, 1961-

Postdoctoral Fellow and Fellow.

Dunn, G. H. (Gordon H.), 1932-

Physicist; Chief, Quantum Physics Division; Senior Scientist; and Fellow.

Greene, Christopher Henry

Fellow; Director, Center for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics; and Chair.

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

Fellow.

Jin, Deborah S.

National Research Council (NRC) Research Associate; Physicist; and Fellow.

Lane, Neal F.

Visiting Fellow and Adjunct Fellow.

Murnane, Margaret

Fellow.

Ramsey, Norman, 1915-2011

Visiting Professor.

Wieman, C. E. (Carl Edwin)

Fellow and Chair.

Ye, Jun, 1967-

Associate Fellow and Fellow.

Associates & Members

Bender, P. L. (Peter Leopold), 1930-

Birmingham, B. W., 1925-

Jeffries, John T.

Paczyński, Bohdan

Visiting Fellow.

Phelps, Arthur V. (Arthur Van Rensselaer), 1923-

Pound, Robert V.

Visiting Fellow.

Willmarth, William W.

Visiting Fellow.

Institutions

Institutional Hierarchy

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

Runs the Institute with the University of Colorado Boulder.

Collaborators

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Worked with the University of Colorado Boulder to establish the institute in 1962.

University of Colorado Boulder. Department of Physics

Worked with the National Bureau of Standards to establish the institute in 1962.

Resources

Archival Resources

Subject

Fragments of a history of the early years of the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii [manuscript], 2006.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Arthur V. Phelps, 2008 October 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Bascomb Birmingham, 1987 May 11.

NIST Research Library and NIST Archives

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Information Services Division. 100 Bureau Drive, MS 2500, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

Oral history interview with Edward Uhler Condon, 1967 October 17, 18, 1968 April 27, 1973 September 11 and 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John T. Jefferies, 1977 July 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Lewis Branscomb, 1988 July 11-13.

NIST Research Library and NIST Archives

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Information Services Division. 100 Bureau Drive, MS 2500, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

Oral history interviews with Lewis McAdory Branscomb, 2009-2010.

Archives. Pusey Library

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Oral history inteview with Peter L. Bender, 1987 May 12.

NIST Research Library and NIST Archives

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Information Services Division. 100 Bureau Drive, MS 2500, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA