Nobel Citation Credits Texas A&M Physicists
COLLEGE STATION —
Quantum optics research at Texas A&M University achieved worldwide fame once again last week, earning a prestigious reference in the advanced information regarding the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics, shared by American physicists Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall and German physicist Theodor W. Hansch.
After paying homage to Max Planck, Albert Einstein and other historical quantum greats, the Nobel document recognized present luminaries, including Texas A&M’s Dr. Marlan O. Scully and Dr. M. Suhail Zubairy and their 1997 book, Quantum Optics, widely considered a modern-day standard in quantum optics theory.
The advanced information, which is written by committee, cited Scully as one in a “generation of theoreticians” who have played a part in the award-winning work by establishing “a solid foundation for the experimental activities” in quantum optics.
The elegant tribute wasn’t lost on international media, who besieged Scully and Texas A&M’s Institute for Quantum Studies for input regarding both the prize and the opportunities this field of research creates for harnessing the power of increasingly precise, light-based instruments, including computers and navigational devices.
Texas A&M’s quantum optics prowess also is renowned in worldwide faculty hiring circles. This past spring, the group was a key factor in attracting Texas A&M Physics’ first Nobel laureate, Dr. Dudley R. Herschbach, who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The group also features three National Academy of Sciences members in Scully, Herschbach and Dr. Leonid Keldysh, who is also a member of the Russian National Academy of Sciences. Other members have merited prestigious recognition from professional societies, including the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.
In addition to top-notch faculty, the group also boasts its fair share of successful student protégés. Many of its graduates have gone on to secure positions at elite U.S. research institutions such as Harvard, the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or within national laboratories, including Los Alamos and Livermore. Many others are leaders in industry.
“One particular Texas Aggie, Mikhail Lukin, who earned his Ph.D. in 1998, is now a full professor at the age of 33 at Harvard,” Scully noted.
While the group’s current work focuses on many aspects of quantum optics, Scully said one of their biggest projects at the moment relates to the detection of trace amounts of pathogens, including anthrax, at a distance.
To read the complete Nobel citation or find biographies and lectures for the 2005 laureates, visit http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/2005/phyadv05.pdf.
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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@tamu.edu or Dr. Marlan Scully, (979) 845-1534 or scully@physics.tamu.edu
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