Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane in their lab.
The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office (TTO) presented awards to Henry C. Kapteyn, Margaret Murnane, and Dana Anderson on April 24 for representing the spirit of innovation at CU-Boulder and best practices in commercialization of university technologies, according to a press release issued by TTO on April 21. TTO recognized Henry C. Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane as its Inventors of the Year, CU-Boulder. The two researchers are Fellows of JILA and physics professors at CU Boulder. Their joint group develops ultrafast lasers, including devices that produce coherent laser-like x-ray beams. These technologies have applications in research on natural processes and in the visualization of nanoscale processes important for the development of nano devices. In 1994, Kapteyn and Murnane founded KMLabs to commercialize their ultrafast lasers and make them available to academic and industry researchers. Recently, they have sold their devices to companies developing technologies such as micromachining. TTO also recognized Cold Quanta, co-founded by Fellow Dana Anderson, as Boulder Company of the Year. ColdQuanta manufactures cutting-edge cold- and ultracold-atom technologies. These technologies incorporate Bose-Einstein condensates, a new form of matter created at temperatures just above absolute zero. Applications for ColdQuanta technologies include atomic clocks, navigation systems for submarines and spacecraft, and quantum computing. The opportunity to realize these advanced systems grew out of decades of research by Anderson, who is also a CU-Boulder physics professor. "TTO is pleased to highlight the contributions that (JILA) researchers and companies have made to their fields," said MaryBeth Vellequette, director of technology transfer for Cu-Boulder. "Their commitment to creating real-world impact for their (research) deserves recognition."
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.