News

February 27, 2024: JILA and the University of Colorado Boulder Lead Pioneering Quantum Gravity Research with Heising-Simons Foundation Grant
Heising-Simons Foundation Awards $3 Million for Informing Gravity Theory

The Heising-Simons Foundation's Science program has announced a generous grant of $3 million over three years, aimed at bolstering theoretical and experimental research efforts to bridge the realms of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with quantum gravity theories. Among the recipients, a notable grant was awarded to a multi-investigator collaboration spearheaded by the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) and JILA, a joint institute of CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

December 30, 2020: Tyler McMaken, Ran Brynn Reiff, and Julia Cline all win 2020 CU Physics awards
Photo of Ran Brynn Reiff, Julia Cline, and Tyler McMaken

JILA graduate students Tyler McMaken, Ran Brynn Reiff, and Julia Cline all win the 2020 CU Physics Department TA awards 

August 26, 2020: New $115 Million Quantum Systems Accelerator to Pioneer Quantum Technologies for Discovery Science
JILA building

A new national quantum research center draws on JILA Fellows' and their expertise to make the United States an international leader in quantum technology.

October 03, 2018: Three JILA Fellows named 2018 APS Fellows
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Three JILA Fellows have been named 2018 Fellows of the American Physical Society. The three new Fellows—Andreas Becker, Heather J. Lewandowski, and James K. Thompson—were nominated from varying divisions of APS. Andreas Becker was nominated by the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical physics for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of atoms and molecules in intense light fields, including seminal theoretical studies of attosecond dynamics, photoionization, complex electron dynamics in simple systems such as H2, and a better understanding of high-harmonic generation.

June 04, 2018: Cline and Cairncross win GPMFC Poster Competition
JILA Graduate Students Julia Cline and William Cairncross.

JILA Graduate Students Julia Cline and William Cairncross swept the student poster awards at DAMOP 2018. The Topical Group on Precision Measurement and Fundamental Constants (GPMFC) hosts a student poster competition at the annual meeting for Division for Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics (DAMOP).

December 29, 2016: Kevin Cox Wins Outstanding Presentation Award
Kevin Cox photo.

Kevin Cox has won a prestigious Army Research Lab ENIAC Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship!  Congratulations, Kevin!

September 30, 2016: Matthew Winchester wins Astronaut Scholarship
Matthew Winchester photo.

The official University of Colorado press release is here: http://www.colorado.edu/today/2016/09/30/two-undergrads-score-prestigiou... To be presented by retired Space Shuttle commander Dan Brandenstein, two CU Boulder students have received scholarships, $10,000 each, from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Matthew Winchester, a senior majoring in engineering physics, and Matthew Hurst, a senior studying aerospace engineering and applied mathematics, are among a handful of national recipients for 2016.

June 10, 2016: Julia Cline wins NSF Fellowship
Julia Cline photo.

Julia R.K. Cline was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!  Congratulations, Julia!

April 01, 2016: Matthew Winchester wins Goldwater Scholarship
Matthew Winchester photo.

Congratulations to Matthew Winchester who was awarded a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship! Matthew is majoring in Engineering Physics, and is working on an honors research project on super-radiant lasers in James Thompson’s lab. After graduating with his undergraduate degree, Matthew plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, conducting research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics with an emphasis on precision metrology and then teach at the University level.

February 19, 2016: Matt Norcia Wins JILA Scientific Achievement Award
James Thompson and Matt Norcia photo.

Graduate Student Matt Norcia (Thompson group) received a JILA Scientific Achievement Award on February 18. The announcement took place during a special snack time in the Sunrise Room of the JILA Tower.

August 21, 2014: Kevin Cox receives poster prize at ICAP
Kevin Cox photo.

Graduate student Kevin Cox, of the Thompson Lab, received an "ICAP 2014 Best Poster Presentation" award at this year's International Conference on Atomic Physics in Washington DC. His poster was entitled:  "Synchronization in Superradiant Lasers".

June 24, 2014: Three Young JILA Scientists Garner Poster Awards
Andrew Barentine photo.

Two JILA graduate students and one undergraduate student were recognized with awards for their posters and presentations at the recent Boulder Laboratories Postdoctoral Poster Symposium, held at NIST Boulder (325 Broadway) on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. The Outstanding Presentation Award is a special recognition for selected poster presenters at the Boulder Laboratories Postdoctoral Poster Symposium. 

August 07, 2013: James Thompson Awarded Department of Commerce Bronze Medal
James Thompson Portrait.

James Thompson has been named the winner of a 2013 Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for his work on pioneering superradiant lasers. The superradiant laser is a quantum device that emits coherent lasing photons.

July 22, 2013: JILA Researchers Win Outstanding Presentation Awards
Bryce Gadway photo.

JILA researchers garnered two Outstanding Presentation awards at the Boulder Laboratories 10th annual  Postdoctoral Poster Symposium held on July 17, 2013. Bryce Gadway, a research associate in the Ye group, was recognized for his presentation “Realizing a Lattice Spin System with Ultracold Polar Molecules.” Gadway’s co-authors included poster co-presenter Jacob Covey as well as Bo Yan, Steve Moses, Kaden Hazzard, Ana Maria Rey, Deborah Jin, and Jun Ye. Covey was cited for doing a commendable job as a presenter.