JILA Fellow Adam Kaufman has been awarded a 2024 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
JILA Fellow, NIST Physicist, and University of Colorado Boulder Physics Professor Adam Kaufman has been honored with a prestigious 2024 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, named after the esteemed German astronomer and mathematician, is awarded annually to around 20 internationally renowned academics. It includes a €45,000 grant and the opportunity to conduct a research project of the recipient's choice at a German research institution. Kaufman will collaborate with Prof. Dr. Monika Aidelsburger at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), furthering his innovative work in quantum optics.
Kaufman's research delves into manipulating individual particles, such as complex atoms, using the tools of atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Kaufman and his team utilize powerful beams of light called “optical tweezers” to hold and manipulate individual atoms with extreme precision. His work has profound implications for quantum simulation, information, and metrology.
“I feel honored and grateful for receiving this award,” Kaufman stated. “I greatly look forward to the collaborations it will facilitate during my upcoming visits to colleagues in Germany.”
Written by Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, JILA Science Communicator
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.