John Lewis "Jan" Hall (born August 21, 1934) is an American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics. He shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics with

Theodor W. Hänsch Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch (; born 30 October 1941) is a German physicist. He received one-third of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics for "contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb t ...

and

Roy Glauber Roy Jay Glauber (September 1, 1925 – December 26, 2018) was an American theoretical physicist. He was the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University and Adjunct Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. Born in New ...

for his work in precision

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

Biography

Born in Denver, Colorado, Hall holds three degrees from Carnegie Institute of Technology, a B.S. in 1956, an M.S. in 1958, and a Ph.D. in 1961. He completed his postdoctoral studies at the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

's National Bureau of Standards, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he remained from 1962 until his retirement in 2004. He has lectured at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1967. Hall is currently a NIST Senior Fellow, Emeritus and remains a Fellow at JILA, formerly the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, and Lecturer at the CU-Boulder Physics Department. JILA is a research institute managed jointly by CU-Boulder and NIST. Hall shared half of the Nobel prize with

for their pioneering work on laser-based precision spectroscopy and the optical frequency comb technique. The other half of the prize was awarded to

Roy J. Glauber Roy Jay Glauber (September 1, 1925 – December 26, 2018) was an American theoretical physicist. He was the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University and Adjunct Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. Born in New ...

. Hall has received many other honors for his pioneering work, including the Optical Society of America's Max Born Award "for pioneering the field of stable lasers, including their applications in fundamental physics and, most recently, in the stabilization of femtosecond lasers to provide dramatic advances in optical frequency metrology". Hall is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to President George W. Bush in May of 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In 2015, Hall signed the Mainau Declaration 2015 on Climate Change on the final day of the 65th

Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are annual scientific conferences held in Lindau, Bavaria, Germany, since 1951. Their aim is to bring together Nobel laureates and young scientists to foster scientific exchange between different generations, ...

. The declaration was signed by a total of 76 Nobel Laureates and handed to then-President of the French Republic,

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, as part of the successful COP21 climate summit in Paris.

Honours and awards

*National Carbon Company Fellow in Physics, 1957–1961 *

Department of Commerce Gold Medal The Department of Commerce Gold Medal is the highest honor award of the United States Department of Commerce. Since 1949, the Department of Commerce Gold Medal is presented by the Secretary of Commerce for distinguished performance. The award may b ...

, 1969 * Samuel W. Stratton Award, 1971 *Department of Commerce Gold Medal, 1974 (group awards) *IR-100: Laser stabilizer selected as one of "100 best new products of the year," 1975 *IR-100: Laser wavelength meter ("Lambdameter") selected as one of "100 best new products of the year," 1977 *E. U. Condon Award, 1979 *

Charles Hard Townes Award The Charles Hard Townes Award of The Optical Society is a prize for Quantum Electronics — that is to say, the physics of lasers. Awarded annually since 1981, it is named after the Nobel Prize-winning laser pioneer Charles H. Townes.

of the Optical Society of America, 1984, jointly with V. P. Chebotayev (Academy of Sciences, USSR) *Davisson-Germer Prize of the American Physical Society, 1988 *Docteur Honoris Causa de l'Universite Paris Nord, 1989 *Frederic Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America, 1991 *

Einstein Prize for Laser Science The Einstein Prize for Laser Science was a recognition awarded by the former Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics and sponsored by the Eastman Kodak Company. The prize, awarded in the 1988–1999 period, consisted of a 3-inch brass meda ...

, 1992 * Arthur L. Shawlow Prize of the American Physical Society, 1993 *

Allen V. Astin Allen Varley Astin (June 12, 1904 – January 28, 1984) was an American physicist who served as director of the United States National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) from 1951 until 1969. During the ...

Measurement Science Award, 2000 *

Max Born Award The Max Born Award is given by the Optical Society (formerly the Optical Society of America) for "outstanding contributions to physical optics", and is named after Max Born. Recipients SourceThe Optical Society * 2022 Yuri Kivshar * 2021 Anne L ...

of the Optical Society of America, 2002 * Presidential Rank Award from the Office of Personnel Management, 2002 *Department of Commerce Gold Medal, 2002 (group awards) *Rabi Award of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society, 2004 * Légion d'Honneur Membership, 2004 * Nobel Prize in Physics, 2005 *Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 2006 *Doctor of Science, ''honoris causa'', University of Glasgow, 2007

References

External links

*
CV and publication list

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

JILA

Comb generating optical cavity that includes an optical amplifier and an optical modulator (John Lewis Hall)
Hall's website
taken at ''Lasers'' '92 including, right to left, Marlan Scully, Willis Lamb, John L. Hall, and

F. J. Duarte Francisco Javier "Frank" Duarte (born c. 1954) is a laser physicist and author/editor of several books on tunable lasers. His research on physical optics and laser development has won several awards, including an Engineering Excellence Award in ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John L. 1934 births Living people People from Denver Alumni of the University of Glasgow American Nobel laureates 21st-century American physicists Optical physicists Laser researchers Carnegie Mellon University alumni Nobel laureates in Physics University of Colorado Boulder faculty Honorary members of Optica (society) Fellows of Optica (society) Department of Commerce Gold Medal Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Spectroscopists Fellows of the American Physical Society