Ron Folman to receive award for laser science and quantum physics
New York, NY -- Ron Folman a professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been named a recipient of the prestigious 2011 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics.
The award is presented annually in Utah for outstanding contributions to the field of physics in honor of Willis E. Lamb Jr., who was the 1955 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Folman, a quantum physicist and a member of BGU's Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, is head of BGU's Atom Chip Lab and its nanofabrication facility. The facility serves dozens of BGU researchers, as well as the Israeli high tech industry, and provides advanced chips to laboratories around the world.
Folman's research relates to quantum optics and specifically matter-wave optics (i.e. atom optics with ultra-cold atoms). The Atom Chip Lab utilizes chips that interface with single atoms or groups of atoms for fundamental studies of quantum mechanics-related questions, and the development of applications that include precision clocks, inertial navigation, gravitational field sensing, magnetic sensing, and quantum communications and computing.
"Nanotechnology is one of the key areas in which BGU has quickly established a worldwide reputation due to breakthrough innovations by researchers like Prof. Ron Folman," explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "With the University's new state-of-the-art nanotechnology facilities, we expect to yield significant discoveries."
The award will be presented at the 41st Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Electronics, an annual physics conference in Utah in January 2011, which attracts the world's experts in laser and quantum physics.
Find out more by visiting Ben-Gurion University of the Negev online.
Stephen G. Anderson | Director, Industry Development - SPIE
Stephen Anderson is a photonics industry expert with an international background and has been actively involved with lasers and photonics for more than 30 years. As Director, Industry Development at SPIE – The international society for optics and photonics – he is responsible for tracking the photonics industry markets and technology to help define long-term strategy, while also facilitating development of SPIE’s industry activities. Before joining SPIE, Anderson was Associate Publisher and Editor in Chief of Laser Focus World and chaired the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar. Anderson also co-founded the BioOptics World brand. Anderson holds a chemistry degree from the University of York and an Executive MBA from Golden Gate University.