News

Jun Ye, a distinguished Fellow at JILA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a physics professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been honored with the 2025 Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis. 

JILA and NIST Fellow and CU Boulder Physics Professor Jun Ye has been named a 2024 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate. This distinction is awarded to scientists whose work ranks in the top 1% of citations globally. Ye, known for his groundbreaking contributions to precision measurement and atomic, molecular, and optical physics, joins an elite list of researchers shaping the forefront of scientific innovation.

In a recently released NOVA documentary called "Decoding the Universe: Quantum," JILA and NIST Fellow and CU Boulder Physics Professor Jun Ye brings his expertise to the screen, unveiling the mysteries of quantum mechanics and atomic clocks.

Flari Tech Inc., a startup rooted in cutting-edge JILA research, has clinched one of the prestigious 2024 Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) grants from the University of Colorado Boulder, advancing its pioneering work to build a breathalyzer for diagnostics use targeting life-threatening diseases such as lung cancer.  

Developed at JILA by a team led by JILA and NIST Fellow and CU Boulder Physics professor Jun Ye and JILA graduate students Qizhong Liang and Apoorva Bisht, Flari Tech’s innovative diagnostic tool is powered by the Nobel Prize-winning optical frequency comb and aims to bring a novel, non-invasive, faster method for lung cancer detection for clinical use.
 

JILA postdoctoral researcher Simon Scheidegger has received the prestigious METAS 2024 Award from the Swiss Physical Society (SPS). Scheidegger, who is part of JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye's laboratory group, was awarded for his pioneering research on precise measurements of hydrogen energy levels during his PhD at ETH Zurich. 

JILA postdoctoral researcher Jake Higgins, part of JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye’s research group, has been awarded a coveted spot at the 2024 MIT Chemistry Future Faculty Symposium. This prestigious event will be held on August 12 and 13 on the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA, featuring some of the brightest early-career scientists poised to pursue academic careers.

On July 3, 2024, Colorado Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo delved into the quantum realm during her first official visit to ]JILA, a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. 

In a recent significant visit to JILA, a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper discussed the transformative potential of quantum computing on Colorado's economy, job industry, and educational sector. The visit underscored the state's growing prominence in the quantum technology landscape.

In an exciting turn for physics research, four major foundations have announced a collaborative funding effort for 11 pioneering "tabletop" experiments. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation have come together, committing a total of $30 million. This unique initiative focuses on supporting experiments that, despite their relatively modest scale, are set to delve into areas often reserved for large-scale facilities.

Among the funded projects, each of which will receive up to five years of financial support, is a particularly notable experiment led by JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye and his research team. Known for his remarkable work in physics, Ye's project stands out for its ambition and innovative approach. The experiment involves the development of ultra-precise atomic clocks, which are expected to significantly advance our understanding of both quantum mechanics and general relativity.

In a prestigious acknowledgment of scientific impact, JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye has been awarded the 2023 "Highly Cited" researcher designation from Clarivate. This notable recognition is bestowed upon researchers whose work ranks in the top 1% of citations for their field, highlighting their significant influence in the scientific community. 

Every year, the Colorado Photonics Industry Association (CPIA) holds a university meeting where students from several of Colorado's prominent universities present their work as a poster to an industry audience, followed by networking with potential employers. For students, it's an excellent opportunity to practice public speaking, share their current research projects, and find potential industry jobs. Each year, three students are awarded a cash prize for how well they communicate their research and the design of their poster. 

This year, JILA graduate students Qizhong Liang, from JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye's research group, and Drew Morrill, from JILA Fellows Margaret Murnane's and Henry Kapteyn's research group, have been awarded prizes for their poster presentations. 

JILA and NIST Fellows Jun Ye and Eric Cornell's recent research on advancing electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) measurements has been highlighted in Physics World. 

Around 150 promising inventions are generated annually within the University of Colorado Boulder. To support these inventions, the Venture Partners at CU Boulder organization established the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator, an accelerator program for start-up companies coming out of CU Boulder. This year, Venture Partners at CU Boulder announced the Embark Entrepreneurs in Residence cohort. This cohort pairs entrepreneurs with promising inventions. 

In the case of JILA, entrepreneur Eva Yao will lead FLARI in bringing to market a breathalyzer capable of detecting molecules in breath or air samples invented by Jun Ye for fast detection of diseases and contaminants. 

JILA graduate student Alexander Aeppli is one of a team of researchers working on the world’s most precise clocks. In the laboratory of JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, Aeppli focuses on improving the strontium atomic clock using powerful ultrastable lasers. “The laser drives an electronic transition in strontium,” Aeppli explained. “And we want to make sure the transition within the strontium is exact.” Before the transition occurs, the strontium atoms are trapped within an optical lattice inside the clock. Once trapped, the strontium atoms can transition when exposed to a particular color (or frequency) of light, and the researchers, like Aeppli, measure this transition frequency as a form of timekeeping. The frequency can then be used as the precise standard of time worldwide.  

JILA and NIST Fellows David Nesbitt's and Jun Ye's recent results in their breathalyzer study have been highlighted in a new article in Scientific American. Using frequency combs, a particular type of laser array, scientists could detect specific molecules in the breath, including diseases like COVID-19. This research suggests huge implications for the future of disease diagnosis and prevention. 

Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering at the U.S. Department of Defense, visited JILA and the University of Colorado Boulder on Monday to glimpse the future of cutting-edge research.

From the university’s proximity to national laboratories and quantum-intensive companies to the high volume of pioneering alumni, CU Boulder has long been a leader in the quantum space. This legacy has led to a push in innovation and technology, including as it pertains to national security—a goal also shared by Shyu and the Department of Defense.

JILA and NIST Fellows Jun Ye and David Nesbitt, along with their respective teams, have recently been highlighted in the latest issue of the SPIE Photonics West Show Daily, a publication from SPIE. This highlight focuses on the recent advancements in the frequency comb breathalyzer apparatus that the researchers have built and tested, which looks at diagnosing COVID-19 and other diseases.

With each breath, humans exhale more than 1,000 distinct molecules, producing a unique chemical fingerprint or “breathprint” rich with clues about what’s going on inside the body. For decades, scientists have sought to harness that information, turning to dogs, rats and even bees to literally sniff out cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis and more. This week, scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made an important leap forward in the quest to diagnose disease using exhaled breath, reporting that a new laser-based breathalyzer powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can detect COVID-19 in real-time with excellent accuracy.

Every year the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) grant honor awards in the form of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. According to the DOC website: “the Gold and Silver Medals are the highest and second highest honor granted by the Secretary for distinguished and exceptional performance.” Two of JILA’s Fellows, Jun Ye, and Judah Levine, have been awarded these medals.

JILA, NIST Fellow, and University of Colorado Boulder Professor Jun Ye has been appointed to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. In a recent announcement, President Biden advanced the National Quantum Initiative by appointing fifteen experts in quantum information science to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC), with Ye being one of the members.