University of Colorado President John Buechner and Chancellor Richard L. Byyny today announced receipt of a $962,000 grant awarded for the W.M. Keck Optical Measurement Laboratory to be located in JILA, a research and teaching institute on the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus.
Funding is from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles, one of the nation's largest philanthropic organizations. Established in 1954 by the late William Myron Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company, the Foundation's grantmaking is focused primarily on breakthrough research in science, engineering and medicine.
"This is an exciting award from a prestigious organization which reinforces the cross-disciplinary and innovative research conducted here at the University of Colorado," said President Buechner. "CU's total learning environment fosters this kind of inquiry and discovery."
JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics and now known just as JILA, is world-renowned for its work in optics and lasers. JILA is a joint institute of CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
"A common thread throughout much of JILA's work is the use of lasers, lenses, mirrors and other optical devices," said JILA fellow James Faller, a NIST senior scientist and professor adjoint of physics. "The new laboratory will provide a world-class resource for optical measurement."
Three of JILA's most notable research accomplishments include the creation of the first Bose-Einstein condensate, the use of lasers to guide atoms down hollow fibers and the shaping of ultrashort laser pulses to study nonlinear optical phenomena.
"Some of our most distinguished faculty members will be involved in the exciting work of the W.M. Keck Optical Measurement Laboratory," said CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Chancellor Richard L. Byyny. "The Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus is proud to receive this grant, which will help us build on our strong research in optical science."
In 1995, JILA was the site of the world's first creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, a new form of matter predicted by Albert Einstein in 1924. The discovery by JILA fellows Carl Wieman, distinguished professor of physics at CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø, and Eric Cornell, a NIST physicist and professor adjoint of physics, and their scientific team is now being studied around the world.
The new optical lab, planned to open at CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø in the summer of 1999, will play a critical role in improving scientists' ability to use light to study the condensate's properties.
"The Keck Optical Laboratory will enhance the already strong research programs of JILA scientists as well as offering significant new learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students from a number of departments," said JILA chair and Professor Catharine Garmany.
JILA includes scientists and graduate students from the departments of chemistry, physics, astrophysics and the Quantum Physics and Time and Frequency divisions of NIST.
JILA was founded in 1962 and is internationally recognized for innovative developments in lasers and optical science. Five of the 28 JILA fellows are members of the National Academy of Sciences.
"One of JILA's great strengths is its supporting facilities of world-class instrument and electronics shops," Faller said. "In the same way that these shops allow scientists to conduct experiments that would be difficult to accomplish anywhere else, the optical measurement capabilities provided by the new Keck laboratory will dramatically enhance our ability to carry out world-class science."