Mikhail Lukin (russian: Михаи́л Дми́триевич Луки́н); born 10 October 1971) is a Russian theoretical and experimental physicist and a professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was elected a member of 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 2018.

Early life

Lukin was born in Moscow, Russia. He studied physics and mathematics at

MIPT ''N''-Methyl-''N''-isopropyltryptamine (MiPT) is a psychedelic tryptamine, closely related to DMT, DiPT and Miprocin. Chemistry MiPT base, unlike many other tryptamines in their freebase form, does not decompose rapidly in the presence of ligh ...

which he graduated in 1993. Following the graduation, he joined

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

where he wrote a research paper titled ''Quantum Coherence and Interference in Optics and Laser Spectroscopy'' which he used for his Ph.D.

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

. Between this and 1994 he was a visiting scientist to

Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics The Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics (abbreviation: MPQ; german: Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik) is a part of the Max Planck Society which operates 87 research facilities in Germany. The institute is located in Garching, Germany, w ...

Garching Garching bei München (''Garching near Munich'') or Garching is a town in Bavaria, Germany, near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments on its campus. It became a city on 14 September 1990. Location The ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Later on he became a postdoc at Texas A&M University and then became a fellow, and later joint director, of the

Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics The Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP) is an international scientific learned society based at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was established in 1988 to alle ...

a division of Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. In 2001 he became an assistant professor at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and three years later became its professor.

Research

In 2005 he proposed an idea to use

quantum computing Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

mail rather than

Email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

which is already used by both Harvard and Boston Universities. He and Vladan Vuletic experimentally confirmed a new type of matter in which

photonic molecule Photonic molecules are a theoretical natural form of matter which can also be made artificially in which photons bind together to form "molecules". They were first predicted in 2007. Photonic molecules are formed when individual (massless) photons ...

s can be used to create a

lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the or ...

-like technology. In a 2013 interview with ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'' he explained that he observed the matter the same way as it is in the movies, but unlike the movies the objects don't pass through each other but rather behave like solid objects. Lukin is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America.

Awards

*2000 The Optical Society of America Adolph Lomb Medal *2009 – ''I.I. Rabi Prize'' *2021 - The Optical Society of America Charles Hard Townes Medal for pioneering theoretical and experimental contributions to quantum nonlinear optics and quantum information science and technology, and for the development and application of nanoscale quantum systems for sensing

References

External links

*
Mikhail Lukin
1971 births Living people Russian physicists Texas A&M University alumni Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology alumni Harvard University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society {{Russia-physicist-stub