Carl Edwin Wieman (born March 26, 1951) 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 ...

and

educationist Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and currently the A. D. White Professor at Large at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. In 1995, while at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

, he and Eric Allin Cornell produced the first true Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) and, in 2001, they and

Wolfgang Ketterle Wolfgang Ketterle (; born 21 October 1957) is a German physicist and professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research has focused on experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zer ...

(for further BEC studies) were awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

. Wieman currently holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and Professor in the

Stanford Graduate School of Education The Stanford University Graduate School of Education (Stanford GSE or GSE) is one of the top education schools in the United States. It offers master's and doctoral programs in more than 25 areas of specialization, along with joint degrees with ...

, as well as the DRC Professor in the

Stanford University School of Engineering Stanford University School of Engineering is one of the schools of Stanford University. The current dean is Jennifer Widom, the former senior associate dean of faculty affairs and computer science chair. She is the school's 10th dean. Organizati ...

. In 2020, Wieman was awarded the Yidan Prize in Education Research for "his contribution in developing new techniques and tools in STEM education".

Biography

Wieman was born in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

to N. Orr Wieman and Alison Marjorie Fry in the United States and graduated from Corvallis High School. His paternal grandfather

Henry Nelson Wieman Henry Nelson Wieman (1884–1975) was an American philosopher and theologian. He became the most famous proponent of theocentric naturalism and the empirical method in American theology and catalyzed the emergence of religious naturalism in t ...

was a religious philosopher of German descent and his mother had

white Anglo-Saxon Protestant In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) is a Sociology, sociological term which is often used to describe White Americans, white Protestantism in the United States, Protestant Americans of E ...

family background. Wieman earned his B.S. in 1973 from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and his Ph.D. from

in 1977; he was also awarded a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

, ''honoris causa'' from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1997. He was awarded the

Lorentz Medal Lorentz Medal is a distinction awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was established in 1925 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the doctorate of Hendrik Lorentz. The medal is given for imp ...

in 1998. In 2001, he won the

, along with Eric Allin Cornell and

, for fundamental studies of the Bose-Einstein condensate. In 2004, he was named United States Professor of the Year among all doctoral and research universities. In a 2020 interview given to

Federal University of Pará The Federal University of Pará (, UFPA) is one of the Public university, public universities maintained by the Brazilian Federal government of Brazil, federal government in the States of Brazil, state of Pará. The university, with + 50,000 stude ...

in Brazil, Wieman recalls his youth and his journey as a physicist; the influence of other people, like teachers and his parents, on his trajectory; his path through science education and the foundation of the open educational resource PhET Interactive Simulations. Wieman joined the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

on 1 January 2007 and headed a well-endowed science education initiative there; he retained a twenty percent appointment at the

to head the science education project he founded in Colorado. On 1 September 2013, Wieman joined

with a joint appointment in the physics department and the Graduate School of Education. In the past several years, Wieman has been particularly involved with efforts at improving

science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

and has conducted educational research on science instruction. Wieman served as Chair of the Board on Science Education of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

from 2005 to 2009. He has used and promotes Eric Mazur's

peer instruction Peer instruction is a teaching method popularized by Harvard Professor Eric Mazur in the early 1990s. Originally used in introductory undergraduate physics classes at Harvard University, peer instruction is used in various disciplines and instituti ...

, a pedagogical system where teachers repeatedly ask

multiple-choice Multiple choice (MC), objective response or MCQ (for multiple choice question) is a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are asked to select only the correct answer from the choices offered as a list. The multiple choice format i ...

concept questions during class, and students reply on the spot with little wireless "clicker" devices. If a large proportion of the class chooses a wrong answer, students discuss among themselves and reply again. In 2007, Wieman was awarded the

Oersted Medal The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most presti ...

, which recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics, by the

American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...

(AAPT). Wieman is the founder and chairman of

PhET Phet may refer to: * Cyclone Phet, a cyclone formed in the Arabian Sea in 2010 * Amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant tha ...

, a web-based directive of

which provides an extensive suite of simulations to improve the way that physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math are taught and learned.
Link
Wieman is a member of 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 U ...

's Advisory Board. Wieman was nominated to be The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy Associate Director of Science on March 24, 2010. His hearing in front of the Commerce committee occurred on May 20, 2010, and he was passed by unanimous consent. On September 16, 2010, Dr. Wieman was confirmed by unanimous consent. He left that post in June 2012 to battle

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

Selected publications

* * * * *Wieman, Carl, (2014). "Stop Lecturing Me", Scientific American, July 15, 2014.

References

External links

Carl Wieman's blog
at ScientificBlogging.com * including the Nobel Lecture December 8, 2001 ''Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Gas; The First 70 Years and Some Recent Experiments''
Globe and Mail Article
at Patent Genius

taken at ''Lasers'' '95 including (right to left)

Marlan Scully Marlan Orvil Scully (born August 3, 1939) is an American physicist best known for his work in theoretical quantum optics. He is a professor at Texas A&M University and Princeton University. Additionally, in 2012 he developed a lab at the Baylor ...

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

, Carl E. Wieman, and F. J. Duarte. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wieman, Carl 1951 births Living people People with multiple myeloma 21st-century American physicists American optical physicists American Nobel laureates Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Nobel laureates in Physics Lorentz Medal winners People from Corvallis, Oregon American people of German descent Stanford University alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia University of Colorado Boulder faculty Fellows of Optica (society) Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Corvallis High School (Oregon) alumni University of Michigan faculty Sloan Research Fellows Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates Yidan Prize laureates

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References

External links