Nobel Physicist Carl Wieman to Deliver 2006 Maurer Lecture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman will speak on “Bose-Einstein Condensate: Quantum Weirdness at the Lowest Temperature in the Universe” as the 2006 Robert D. Maurer Lecturer. The lecture series, sponsored by the physics department in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is named after alumnus Dr. Robert D. Maurer, co-inventor of the first telecommunications-grade optical fiber.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. A reception will follow.

Professor Wieman will discuss how atoms can be cooled with lasers to temperatures of 100 billionths of a degree above absolute zero. Once chilled, the atoms can then be held and manipulated with light. This new technology has made possible the construction of ultra-precise atomic clocks, atom interferometers, and the achievement of “Bose-Einstein condensate,” a new state of matter in which a large number of atoms lose their individual identities and behave as a single quantum entity called the “superatom.”

The study and use of the curious properties of such atoms has now become an important subfield of physics. The same technique has allowed scientists to study the behavior of individual bio-molecules and bio-molecular systems in real time.

During the presentation, Wieman will demonstrate the use of interactive applets as a tool for teaching science.

On Friday, March 10, Wieman will offer a colloquium on “Using the Tools of Science to Teach Science” at 4 p.m. in the Paul Sharrah Lecture Hall, physics building 133. He will discuss approaches to teaching physics and the challenges of offering introductory students a true understanding of physics.

Carl Wieman, who grew up in the forests of Oregon, received his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973 and his doctorate from Stanford University in 1977. He has been at the University of Colorado since 1984, where he holds the titles of Distinguished Professor of Physics, Presidential Teaching Scholar, and Fellow of JILA. He has conducted research in a variety of areas of atomic physics and laser spectroscopy, including using laser light to cool atoms.

In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for the creation of Bose-Einstein condensation in a vapor. He has worked on innovations in teaching physics to a broad range of students, including the Physics Education Technology Project (http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phet), which creates educational online interactive simulations. He is a 2001 recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award and the Carnegie Foundation’s 2004 U.S. University Professor of the Year Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and chairs the Academy Board on Science Education.