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Bethany Wilcox, assistant professor of physics, has won $745K in support of a project to develop tools that can be used to improve teaching of quantum mechanics. Additionally, Assistant Professor Andrew Lucas won $500K in support of a project to predict new kinds of fluids that can exist in nature.

Created by NIST Boulder in 1991, the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) provides valuable lab experience and financial assistance to undergrad, graduate and post-graduate students. Fellowships are awarded to assure continued growth and progress of science and engineering in the U.S.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder Physics grad James Kellogg has extensive experience in the development of cold atom physics systems, the fastest growing area of quantum physics, and is the lead scientist for the integration of the Cold Atom Lab into launch vehicles and the International Space Station (ISS).

Last month, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse got a first-hand look at the future of ultrafast lasers, record-setting clocks and quantum computers when he toured facilities at JILA, a research partnership between Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder and NIST. The visit comes as investments in quantum research are expanding across the country.

Congressman Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, toured JILA on December 16 to talk about the Build Back Better Act. Founded in 1962, JILA is one of many research facilities feeling the impact of aging infrastructure. Funds from the House-passed bill would help equip the institute to more effectively chase world-changing ideas in physics through the next decade and beyond.

Jun Ye (Physics), director of the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵbit Quantum Initiative, has received a number of recent awards and honors for his groundbreaking work in quantum science, including the 2022 Herbert-Walther Award, the Niels Bohr Institute Medal of Honor for 2021, and a 2021 Highly Cited Researcher award from Clarivate.

The business podcast "Innovating with Scott Amyx" recently interviewed ColdQuanta CEO Scott Faris about the process of commercializing the company's pioneering cold atom quantum technology, products and services—which grew out of research originally conducted at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder.

“Quantum information technologies are at a tipping point in growing into a new economic pillar due to recent advances, federal funding and private investment," says Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵbit Executive Director Philip Makotyn. “Inclusion and equity of is critical if we’re to meet the growing workforce and supply chain needs."

On a quantum level, how atoms and light interact has been a topic of interest for many years. In a new paper published in Science, JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye and his lab members report on how light scattering is affected by the quantum nature of the atoms—more specifically, the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

JILA Fellows Ana Maria Rey and James K. Thompson have published paper in Physical Review Letters that discusses a new protocol that could make entangled quantum interferometers easier to produce and use, improving gravitational acceleration measurements.