Photographs of Dr. Phillips

(click picture to enlarge)

These photographs show NIST Fellow William D. Phillips, co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, in his laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dr. Phillips shared the prize with Professor Steven Chu, Stanford University, and Professor Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Collège de France and École Normale Supérieure, for "development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light."

In an ultrahigh vacuum chamber like the one in these photos, NIST researchers have cooled atoms to less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. Phillips and his colleagues at NIST in both Gaithersburg, MD, and Boulder, CO, are continuing to study ultra-cold trapped atoms with the goal of pushing the frontiers of precision measurement. Their work has led to improved accuracy for atomic clocks and new fields of study, including atom optics and atom lasers. It may also have future application in the development of more sensitive gyroscopes for navigation and atom imaging systems for fabricating ultra-small electronic components.

Free use of these photos is restricted to materials that describe NIST programs directly. Copyright is owned by the photographer. For questions about photo use restrictions or to receive high quality copies of the laboratory photos for use describing NIST programs contact Gail Porter, (301) 975-3392.

  Pages designed and maintained by the Office of ECSED.
  Inquiries or comments: Feedback.
  Online: October 20, 1997