For those aspiring to become a physicist or glean something from a Nobel Prize winner, Cal State Long Beach members can look forward to a lecture from William Phillips.
The 39th annual Nobel Laureate Lecture was organized by the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Student Council and will take place April 11 in the University Student Union Ballrooms.
Phillips won the prestigious award in 1997 for his research and discoveries in physics. He is largely known for his developmental methods of cooling and trapping atoms with laser light, which slows atom movement — a method that has expanded research in the field.
He also has two other research projects titled, “Atomic-Gas Bose Einstein Condensates” and “Quantum Information with Single-Atom Qubits.”
The Nobel Prize winner will lecture from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with introductions presented by Claudia Ojeda-Aristizabal, physics faculty member, and by Salina Patel, a biological sciences major and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics student council president.
“It can be challenging to find an available Nobel Laureate each year, because there are only a finite number of laureates and they have very busy and complex schedules,” said Melissa Norrbom, adviser for the Natural Sciences & Mathematics Student Council.
Phillips will speak about careers in physics and will share the story and the success of winning a Nobel Prize. Phillips received his Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the National Institute of Standards Technology shortly after. Now, Phillips continues to work at the institute, which supports measurements and standards for things such as atomic clocks and electric power grids.
“The event sets an example for students of what can be accomplished,” said Rebecca Bowdich, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. “I believe it will inspire students to continue to create and innovate.”
Phillips is also a current member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival Advisory Board, which provides students the opportunity to attend a science festival held in Washington D.C. in honor of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Additionally, he worked as a physics professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.
This event that is sponsored by Dean’s Office of the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics and Associated Students Inc. It will also be one of four school events in California that Phillips will lecture.