Prize Recipient

Christopher Monroe
University of Michigan

Citation:

"For his pivotal experiments that implemented quantum logic using trapped atomic ions, and for his fundamental studies of coherence and decoherence in entangled quantum systems."

Background:

Dr. Monroe received his SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1992. His doctoral research under Dr. Carl Wieman was on trapping and cooling of neutral atoms, using an approach that eventually led to the first observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in a vapor. He switched to ions in 1992, as a postdoctoral fellow at the NIST-Boulder Ion Storage Group under Dr. David Wineland, and in 1995 became a staff scientist in the same group. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dr. Monroe's current research centers on experiments in quantum information science and quantum computing involving trapped atomic ions, including the development of quantum logic gates and large-scale quantum computers. His broader interests include the phenomenon of quantum superposition and entanglement, and how these concepts relate to quantum decoherence and the quantum/classical border.

Dr. Monroe received the International Quantum Communication award in 2000, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 1997, and is a member of the APS

Selection Committee:

Chris H Greene (Chair), Nora Berrah, Mark Raizen ('99 Recipient), Randy Hulet (Vice Chair), Lou DiMauro