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Arthur Ashkin (September 2, 1922 – September 21, 2020) was an American scientist and Nobel laureate who worked at
Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
and
Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
. Ashkin has been considered by many as the father of
optical tweezers Optical tweezers (originally called single-beam gradient force trap) are scientific instruments that use a highly focused laser beam to hold and move microscopic and sub-microscopic objects like atoms, nanoparticles and droplets, in a manner simila ...
, "LaserFest – the 50th anniversary of the first laser" for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 at age 96, becoming the oldest Nobel Laureate until 2019 when John B. Goodenough was awarded at 97. He resided in
Rumson, New Jersey Rumson is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 7,343, reflecting a 3.1% increase from the 7,122 enumera ...
. Ashkin started his work on manipulation of microparticles with laser light in the late 1960s which resulted in the invention of
optical tweezers Optical tweezers (originally called single-beam gradient force trap) are scientific instruments that use a highly focused laser beam to hold and move microscopic and sub-microscopic objects like atoms, nanoparticles and droplets, in a manner simila ...
in 1986. He also pioneered the optical trapping process that eventually was used to manipulate atoms, molecules, and biological cells. The key phenomenon is the
radiation pressure Radiation pressure is the mechanical pressure exerted upon any surface due to the exchange of momentum between the object and the electromagnetic field. This includes the momentum of light or electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that is a ...
of light; this pressure can be dissected down into optical gradient and scattering forces.


Early life and family

Arthur Ashkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1922, to a family of
Ukrainian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...
background. His parents were Isadore and Anna Ashkin. He had two siblings, a brother,
Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...
, also a physicist, and a sister, Ruth. One older sibling, Gertrude, died while young. The family home was in Brooklyn, New York, at 983 E 27 Street. Isadore (né Aschkinase) had emigrated to the United States from
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
(then
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, now
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
), at the age of 18. Anna, five years younger, also came from today's Ukraine, then Galicia,
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. Within a decade of his landing in New York, Isadore had become a U.S. citizen and was running a dental laboratory at 139 Delancey Street in Manhattan. Ashkin met his wife, Aline, at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, and they were married for over 60 years with three children and five grandchildren. She was a chemistry teacher at
Holmdel High School Holmdel High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Holmdel Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the ...
, and their son
Michael Ashkin Michael Ashkin is an American artist who makes sculptures, videos, photographs and installations depicting marginalized, desolate landscapes. He is a professor at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Ashkin was a 2009 G ...
, is an art professor at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.


Education

Ashkin graduated from Brooklyn's James Madison High School in 1940. He then attended
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and was also a technician for Columbia's Radiation Lab tasked with building
magnetron The cavity magnetron is a high-power vacuum tube used in early radar systems and currently in microwave ovens and linear particle accelerators. It generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field while ...
s for U.S. military radar systems. He joined the U.S. Army reserves on July 31, 1945. He continued working in the Columbia University lab. During this period, by Ashkin's own account, three
Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
s were in attendance. Ashkin finished his course work and obtained his BS degree in physics at Columbia University in 1947. He then attended
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, where he studied
nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
. This was during the era of the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
, and Ashkin's brother,
Julius Ashkin Julius Ashkin (August 23, 1920 – June 4, 1982) was a leader in experimental and theoretical physics known for furthering the evolution of particle physics from nuclear physics. As a theoretical physicist he made contributions in the fields of st ...
, was successfully part of it. This led to Arthur Ashkin's introduction to
Hans Bethe Hans Albrecht Bethe (; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German-American theoretical physicist who made major contributions to nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics, and who won the 1967 Nobel ...
,
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...
and others who were at Cornell at the time. He received his PhD degree at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1952, and then went to work for
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
at the request and recommendation of Sidney Millman, who was Ashkin's supervisor at Columbia University.


Career

At Bell Labs, Ashkin worked in the
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...
field until about 1960 to 1961, and then switched to laser research. His research and published articles at that time pertained to
nonlinear optics Nonlinear optics (NLO) is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in ''nonlinear media'', that is, media in which the polarization density P responds non-linearly to the electric field E of the light. The non-linearity is typica ...
,
optical fibers An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means ...
,
parametric oscillator A parametric oscillator is a driven harmonic oscillator in which the oscillations are driven by varying some parameter of the system at some frequency, typically different from the natural frequency of the oscillator. A simple example of a param ...
s and
parametric amplifier A parametric oscillator is a driven harmonic oscillator in which the oscillations are driven by varying some parameter of the system at some frequency, typically different from the natural frequency of the oscillator. A simple example of a param ...
s. Also, at Bell Labs during the 1960s, he was the co-discoverer of the photorefractive effect in the
piezoelectric crystal Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress. The word ''p ...
. Within various professional society memberships, Ashkin attained the rating of fellow in the
Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...
(OSA), the
American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
(APS), and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
(IEEE). He retired from Bell Labs in 1992 after a 40-year career during which he contributed to many areas of
experimental physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...
. He authored many
research papers Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally publ ...
over the years and held 47 patents. He was recipient of the
Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science The Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science is an award of the American Physical Society (APS) that was first awarded in 1998. It is named in honor of Joseph F. Keithley, the founder of Keithley Instruments. The award is prese ...
in 2003 and the
Harvey Prize Harvey Prize is an annual Israeli award for breakthroughs in science and technology, as well as contributions to peace in the Middle East granted by the Technion in Haifa. History The prize is named for industrialist and inventor Leo Harvey. T ...
in 2004. He was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
in 1984 and to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
in 1996. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2013. He continued to work in his home lab. Besides optical tweezers, Ashkin is also known for his studies in photorefraction,
second harmonic generation Second-harmonic generation (SHG, also called frequency doubling) is a nonlinear optical process in which two photons with the same frequency interact with a nonlinear material, are "combined", and generate a new photon with twice the energy of ...
, and non-linear optics in fibers. Recent advances in physics and biology using optical micromanipulation include achievement of
Bose–Einstein condensation Bose–Einstein may refer to: * Bose–Einstein condensate ** Bose–Einstein condensation (network theory) * Bose–Einstein correlations * Bose–Einstein statistics In quantum statistics, Bose–Einstein statistics (B–E statistics) describe ...
in atomic vapors at submillikelvin temperatures, demonstration of atom lasers, and detailed measurements on individual motor molecules. Ashkin's work formed the basis for
Steven Chu Steven Chuphysics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
.


Nobel Prize

On October 2, 2018, Arthur Ashkin was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on optical trapping. Ashkin "was honoured for his invention of 'optical tweezers' that grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells with their laser beam fingers. With this he was able to use the radiation pressure of light to move physical objects, 'an old dream of science fiction', the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said." He was awarded half of the Prize while the other half was shared between Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their work on
chirped-pulse amplification Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique for amplifying an ultrashort laser pulse up to the petawatt level, with the laser pulse being stretched out temporally and spectrally, then amplified, and then compressed again. The stretching and c ...
, a technique "now used in laser machining
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
enables doctors to perform millions of corrective laser eye surgeries every year". At 96, Ashkin was the oldest Nobel Prize laureate to be awarded the prize, until John B. Goodenough received the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
in 2019 at the age of 97. He died on September 21, 2020 at the age of 98.


References


External links

*
Frontiers in Optics 2010
The Optical Society. *
National Academy of Engineering: Member listingNational Academy of Sciences: Member listingAshkin's Book on Atom TrappingFrederic Ives Medal
* including the Nobel Lecture on 8 December 2018 ''Optical Tweezers and their Application to Biological Systems'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashkin, Arthur 1922 births 2020 deaths Scientists from Brooklyn Nobel laureates in Physics American Nobel laureates 21st-century American physicists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Optical physicists Columbia College (New York) alumni Cornell University alumni Scientists at Bell Labs Laser researchers Fellows of the Optical Society Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellow Members of the IEEE Jewish physicists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering People from Rumson, New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army reservists