William Daniel Phillips (born November 5, 1948) is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. He shared the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , 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 " ...

, in 1997, with Steven Chu and

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (; born 1 April 1933) is a French physicist. He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Chu and William Daniel Phillips for research in methods of laser cooling and trapping atoms. Currently he is still an activ ...

Biography

Phillips was born to William Cornelius Phillips of Juniata, Pennsylvania, and Mary Catherine Savino of

Ripacandida Ripacandida is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Atella, Barile, Filiano, Forenza, Ginestra, Rionero in Vulture. Archaeology The study of the necropol ...

, Italy. He is of Italian descent on his mother's side and of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

descent on his father's side. His parents moved to Camp Hill (near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) in 1959, where he attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and graduated valedictorian of his class in 1966. He graduated from

Juniata College Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those wh ...

in 1970 summa cum laude. After that he received his physics doctorate from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. In 1978 he joined NIST. In 1996, he received the

Albert A. Michelson Medal The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

from

The Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

. Phillips' doctoral thesis concerned the magnetic moment of the proton in H₂O. He later did some work with

Bose–Einstein condensate In condensed matter physics, a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that is typically formed when a gas of bosons at very low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (−273.15 °C or −459.6 ...

s. In 1997 he won the

together with

and Steven Chu for his contributions to

laser cooling Laser cooling includes a number of techniques in which atoms, molecules, and small mechanical systems are cooled, often approaching temperatures near absolute zero. Laser cooling techniques rely on the fact that when an object (usually an atom) a ...

, a technique to slow the movement of gaseous atoms in order to better study them, at the

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical s ...

, and especially for his invention of the

Zeeman slower A Zeeman slower is a scientific apparatus that is commonly used in atomic physics to slow and cool a beam of hot atoms to speeds of several meters per second and temperatures below a kelvin. The Gas-phase atoms used in atomic physics are often ...

. Phillips is also a professor of physics, which is part of the

University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is home to ten academic departments and a dozen interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. CMNS is one of 13 schools and colleg ...

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. Phillips is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in May 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 A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

’s

Office of Science The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in t ...

, the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, and the

. He was one of the 35 Nobel laureates who signed a letter urging President Obama to provide a stable $15 billion per year support for clean energy research, technology and demonstration. He is one of three well-known scientists and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

laity who have involved themselves in the

religion and science The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...

dialogue. The other two scientists and fellow Methodists are chemist

Charles Coulson Charles Alfred Coulson (13 December 1910 – 7 January 1974) was a British applied mathematician and theoretical chemist. Coulson's major scientific work was as a pioneer of the application of the quantum theory of valency to problems of m ...

and 1981 Nobel laureate

Arthur Leonard Schawlow Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 1999) was an American physicist and co-inventor of the laser with Charles Townes. His central insight, which Townes overlooked, was the use of two mirrors as the resonant cavity to take maser ac ...

. In October 2010, Phillips participated in the

USA Science and Engineering Festival The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a bi-annual science festival held in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2010 by Larry Bock, the festival is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the ...

's lunch with a laureate program where middle and high school students got to engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist over a brown-bag lunch. Phillips is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's advisory board.

Awards and honors

Phillips has been awarded numerous honors. * Outstanding Young Scientist Award of the Maryland Academy of Sciences, 1982. * Silver Medal of the Department of Commerce, 1983 * Samuel Wesley Stratton Award of the National Bureau of Standards, 1987 * Arthur S. Flemming Award of the Washington Downtown Jaycees, 1988 * Gold Medal of the Dept. of Commerce, 1993. * Election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1995 * Election as a NIST Fellow, 1995 * Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute 1996 * Election to the National Academy of Sciences 1997 *

1997 * Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science (APS) 1998 * Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

1999 * Richtmeyer Award of the Am. Assoc. of Physics Teachers 2000 * Election to the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (titular member), 2000 * Appointed an Academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences 2004. *

Presidential Rank Award The Presidential Rank Awards program is an individual award program granted by the United States government to career Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Senior Career Employees within the OPM-allocated Senior-Level (SL) or Scientific-Profes ...

, 2005 * Service to America Award – Career Achievement - 2006 * Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers

Personal life

Phillips married Jane Van Wynen shortly before he went to MIT. Neither had been regular churchgoers early in their marriage. However, in 1979, they joined the Fairhaven

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

because they appreciated its diversity. He is a founding member of the

International Society for Science and Religion The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) is a learned society established in 2001 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion c ...

. He and his wife have two daughters; Caitlin Phillips (born 1979) who founded Rebound Designs, and Christine Phillips (b 1981) who works in Science Communication. During a seminar at the University of Maryland Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry titled ''Coherent Atoms in Optical Lattices'' Phillips stated, " Rubidium is God's gift to Bose–Einstein condensates."

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture on December 8, 1997 ''Laser Cooling and Trapping of Neutral Atoms''
Curriculum Vitae
from NIST.
Atoms floating in optical molasses
Press Release: The 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics-for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, William Daniel 1948 births Living people MIT Department of Physics alumni American Nobel laureates American people of Italian descent Optical physicists Fellows of Optica (society) Fellows of the American Physical Society People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Nobel laureates in Physics University of Maryland, College Park faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American scientists American United Methodists Converts to Methodism 20th-century Methodists 21st-century Methodists