The 2011 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics

Awarded January 5, 2011, at the 41st Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Electronics.

Randall G. Hulet, Rice University

For pioneering studies of ultra cold Bose and Fermi systems and their application to the understanding of fundamental processes.

Randall Hulet is the Fayez Sarofim Professor of Physics at Rice University. Hulet is best known for his work with ultracold quantum gases of lithium. His group developed the first methods for laser cooling and trapping lithium which enabled them to fully characterize the interactions of both the bosonic and fermionic isotopes. This lead to their pioneering experiments on Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interactions, and the creation of bright matter-wave solitons of these condensates. Hulet’s group created the first quantum degenerate atomic gas Bose/Fermi mixture, and has performed many experiments probing the nature of pairing of strongly interacting fermions. Hulet has received various awards and honors, including the I.I. Rabi Prize from the American Physical Society and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.

Bio provided by Prof. Hulet, 2011.