A 2007 National Medal of Science has been awarded to David J. Wineland, a physicist at the Boulder campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Wineland developed a technique of using lasers to cool ions to near absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature, NIST said in a news release.
Wineland’s work led to the development of laser-cooled atomic clocks, the current state of the art in time and frequency standards.
Wineland also helped launch the field of experimental quantum computing. His group was the first to successfully demonstrate the building blocks of a practical quantum computer, a device that could solve some problems, such as breaking encryption codes.
Originally from Sacramento, Wineland has worked at the NIST laboratories in Boulder since 1975. He received a bachelor of science in physics from the University of California at Berkeley and master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Harvard University.
Wineland is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous awards during his career.
Wineland, 64, was cited for “outstanding leadership” in the development of laser science cooling and for his “major impact” on international science through training of generations of scientists.
Since the award was established, only six percent of winners have been federal employees.
James Turner, NIST deputy director, said the agency is proud of Wineland and his staff.
“Dave Wineland is a prime reason why NIST is a world renowned for atomic clocks and quantum computing research that advance U.S. science, innovation, and competitiveness,” Turner said in a statement.
Katharine Gebbie, chief of NIST’s physics laboratory, in a statement called Wineland an “outstanding scientist” who “made revolutionary contributions to the development and application of laser cooling and trapping.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
