Rudolf Grimm (born 10 November 1961) is an
experimental physicist
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 ...
from Austria. His work centres on ultracold
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, ...
s and
quantum gases. He was the first scientist worldwide who, with his team, succeeded in realizing a
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 ...
of
molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
s.
Career
Grimm graduated in
physics
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 ...
from the
University of Hannover
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...
in 1986. From 1986 to 1989 he was a post-graduate researcher at the
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), then went on to the
Institute of Spectroscopy of the
USSR Academy of Sciences
The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...
in
Troitsk Troitsk (russian: Троицк) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
Modern localities
;Urban localities
*Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast;
*Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Troitsk Settlement of Troitsky Adm ...
near Moscow for half a year. He spent the next ten years in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
as a researcher at the
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik ("MPI for Nuclear Physics" or MPIK for short) is a
research institute in Heidelberg, Germany.
The institute is one of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Max Planck Society), an independent, n ...
. In 1994, Grimm applied to the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
to qualify as a professor by receiving the "
venia docendi
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
" in
experimental physics. In the year 2000, he was appointed to a chair in experimental physics at the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...
, where he has been
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the Faculty for Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics since 2005 and Director of the Research Center for Quantum Physics from 2006. Since 2003, Grimm has also held the position of Scientific Director at the
Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Grimm is married, with three children.
Research
The work of the experimental physicist concentrates on
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 ...
of
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, ...
s and
molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
s and on
fermionic quantum gases. In 2002 his working group succeeded for the first time ever to produce a Bose–Einstein condensate from
caesium atoms.
In the following year, the team produced the first Bose–Einstein condensate of molecules (simultaneously with
Deborah S. Jin's group at
JILA
JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, is a physical science research institute in the United States. JILA is located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. JILA was founded in 1962 as a joint institute ...
,
Boulder, Colorado).
In 2004, the Innsbruck scientists achieved a
Fermionic condensate
A fermionic condensate or Fermi–Dirac condensate is a superfluid phase formed by fermionic particles at low temperatures. It is closely related to the Bose–Einstein condensate, a superfluid phase formed by bosonic atoms under similar cond ...
. In his work on collective oscillations and pairing energies, Grimm found first evidence of the flow of particles without any loss of energy (
superfluidity
Superfluidity is the characteristic property of a fluid with zero viscosity which therefore flows without any loss of kinetic energy. When stirred, a superfluid forms vortices that continue to rotate indefinitely. Superfluidity occurs in two ...
) in Fermi condensates. Meanwhile, Grimm and his team have succeeded in producing more complex molecules in ultracold quantum gases. Currently Grimm is concentrating his efforts on producing mixed condensation from atoms of different elements. In 2006, his working group also managed to lift the veil on an old mystery of physics: they succeeded in the first experimental observation of
Efimov state The Efimov effect is an effect in the quantum mechanics of few-body systems predicted by the Russian theoretical physicist V. N. Efimov in 1970. Efimov’s effect is where three identical bosons interact, with the prediction of an infinite series ...
s, mysterious
quantum state
In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rules for the system's evolution i ...
s that the Russian scientist
Vitali Efimov had theoretically predicted in the early 1970s.
Awards
Grimm has received numerous awards for his achievements. In 2005 he was presented with the
Wittgenstein Award, Austria's highest scientific accolade. In the same year, the Austrian daily paper
Die Presse
''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria.
History and profile
''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...
made him „Austrian (Researcher) of the Year 2005". Years before, he had won the Gerhard Hess Prize, a new blood stipend of the
German Research Foundation (DFG) (1996), and the Silver Medal of the
ETH Zurich (1989). Recently he received the Beller Lectureship Award of the
American Physical Society (APS) (2007), the Science Award of the Region of
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
(2008) and was named „Austrian Scientist of the Year 2009" by the Austrian Club of Education and Science Journalists. In 2018, he was honored jointly with
Vitaly Efimov
Vitaly N. Efimov (Russian: Вита́лий Никола́евич Ефи́мов) is a Russian theoretical physicist. He proposed the existence of a novel and exotic state of matter now dubbed the Efimov State as a researcher in A. F. Ioffe Phy ...
with the inaugural Faddeev Medal. In 2021, he received an
ERC Advanced Grant.
In 2006, Grimm became a full member of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences.
References
External links
CV Rudolf GrimmWorking group Ultracold Atoms and Quantum gases, University of InnsbruckInstitute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI), Austrian Academy of Sciences*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimm, Rudolf
Quantum physicists
21st-century Austrian physicists
21st-century German physicists
Scientists from Mannheim
University of Hanover alumni
Heidelberg University faculty
Academics of the University of Innsbruck
1961 births
Living people
Fellows of the American Physical Society