NIST Physicist David J. Wineland awarded 2007 National Medal of Science

Physicist David J. Wineland of NIST Boulder Laboratories in Colorado. Click here for more information.

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicist David J. Wineland of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been awarded the 2007 National Medal of Science.

President George W. Bush announced the eight latest recipients of the medal today. The winners will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29.

The National Medal of Science honors individuals for pioneering scientific research in a range of fields, including physical, biological, mathematical, social, behavioral and engineering sciences, that enhances understanding of the world and leads to innovations and technologies that give the United States a global economic edge. The National Science Foundation administers the award, which was established by the Congress in 1959.

Wineland, 64, was cited for “outstanding leadership in developing the science of laser cooling and manipulation of ions, with applications in extremely precise measurements and standards, quantum computing, and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics, and for his major impact on the international scientific community through training scientists and outstanding publications.”

Since the award was established, only about 6 percent of winners have been federal employees.

Wineland is internationally recognized for developing the technique of using lasers to cool ions (electrically charged atoms or molecules) to near absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature. Wineland achieved the first demonstration of laser cooling in 1978 and has built on that breakthrough with 30 years of experiments that represent the first or best in the world – often both – in using trapped laser-cooled ions to test theories in quantum physics and demonstrate crucial applications such as new forms of computation.

Wineland’s breakthroughs led to work by groups throughout the world on laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms, culminating in the 1997 Nobel Prize to William D. Phillips of NIST, Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji for development of neutral atom laser cooling. In addition, Wineland’s research also helped make possible the work by Eric Cornell of NIST and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado at Boulder, who with Wolfgang Ketterle and Carl Wieman received the 2001 Nobel Prize for using laser cooling to create the world’s first Bose-Einstein condensate.