Lene Hau
Encyclopedia
Lene Vestergaard Hau is a Danish physicist
. In 1999, she led a Harvard University
team who, by use of a superfluid
, succeeded in slowing a beam of light
to about 17 metres per second
, and, in 2001, was able to momentarily stop a beam.
In 1989, Hau accepted a two-year appointment as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She received her degree from the University of Aarhus
in Denmark
in 1991. Her formalized training is in theoretical physics
but her interest moved to experimental research in an effort to create a new form of matter
known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. In 1991 she joined the Rowland Institute for Science
at Cambridge
as a scientific staff member. Since 1999 she has held the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics at Harvard. She now is the Mallinckrodt
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard.
Dr. Hau’s scientific and service contributions have been recognized through honors that include:
Dr. Hau recently was awarded an honorary appointment to the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
and was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
in 2008.
She received in 2010 Danes Worldwide's annual awards "Årets Verdensdansker" [Best World Dane] because she, according to Danes Worldwide emphatically and persistently has put Denmark on the world map.
from light to a matter wave and back into light using Bose–Einstein condensate
s. Details of the experiment are discussed in the February 8, 2007 publication of the journal Nature
.
Article subtitle: "Lene Vestergaard Hau made headlines by slowing light to below highway speed. Now the ringmaster of light can stop it, extinguish it and revive it - and thereby give quantum information a new look."
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
. In 1999, she led a Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
team who, by use of a superfluid
Superfluid
Superfluidity is a state of matter in which the matter behaves like a fluid without viscosity and with extremely high thermal conductivity. The substance, which appears to be a normal liquid, will flow without friction past any surface, which allows it to continue to circulate over obstructions and...
, succeeded in slowing a beam of light
Slow light
Slow light is the propagation of an optical pulse or other modulation of an optical carrier at a very low group velocity. Slow light occurs when a propagating pulse is substantially slowed down by the interaction with the medium in which the propagation take place.Researchers at the Rowland...
to about 17 metres per second
Metre per second
Metre per second is an SI derived unit of both speed and velocity , defined by distance in metres divided by time in seconds....
, and, in 2001, was able to momentarily stop a beam.
In 1989, Hau accepted a two-year appointment as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She received her degree from the University of Aarhus
University of Aarhus
Aarhus University , located in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, is Denmark's second oldest and second largest university...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1991. Her formalized training is in theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
but her interest moved to experimental research in an effort to create a new form of matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. In 1991 she joined the Rowland Institute for Science
Rowland Institute for Science
The Rowland Institute for Science was founded by Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid Corporation, as a nonprofit basic research organization in 1980. The Rowland, as it is commonly referred to, is dedicated to experimental science across a wide range of disciplines...
at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
as a scientific staff member. Since 1999 she has held the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics at Harvard. She now is the Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt is a set of pharmaceutical, chemical, imaging, and respiratory equipment suppliers based in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Founded in 1867 when the Mallinckrodt brothers formed G. Mallinckrodt & Company to manufacture pharmaceutical chemicals, Mallinckrodt was purchased by Tyco...
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard.
Dr. Hau’s scientific and service contributions have been recognized through honors that include:
- the MacArthur Fellow 2001–2006;
- the NKT award, awarded by the Danish Physical Society, 2001;
- the Ole Rømer Medal, awarded by the president of the University of CopenhagenUniversity of CopenhagenThe University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
, 2001; - an Honorary Degree, Æreshåndværker Kjøbenhavns Håndværkerforening, awarded in the presence of Her Majesty, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, 2001; - recipient of the Samuel Friedman Rescue Award, awarded by the Friedman Foundation, University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, 2001; - recipient of the Year 2000 Award from the Top Danmark Foundation, Copenhagen Denmark, 2000;
- recipient of the J. C. Jacobsen 200 Year Anniversary Award, awarded by the Carlsberg FoundationCarlsberg FoundationCarlsberg Foundation was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876 and owns 30,3% of the shares in Carlsberg Group and has 74,2% of the voting power.The purpose of the foundation is to run and fund Carlsberg Laboratory, the museum at Frederiksborg Palace, to fund scientific research, run the Ny Carlsberg...
, Denmark, 1989; - recipient of the Research Fellowship, 1986–1989, awarded by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
Dr. Hau recently was awarded an honorary appointment to the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters is a Danish non-governmental science Academy, founded 13 November 1742 by permission of the King Christian VI, as a historical Collegium Antiquitatum...
and was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
in 2008.
She received in 2010 Danes Worldwide's annual awards "Årets Verdensdansker" [Best World Dane] because she, according to Danes Worldwide emphatically and persistently has put Denmark on the world map.
Qubit transfer
Prof. Hau and her associates at Harvard University have successfully transferred a qubitQubit
In quantum computing, a qubit or quantum bit is a unit of quantum information—the quantum analogue of the classical bit—with additional dimensions associated to the quantum properties of a physical atom....
from light to a matter wave and back into light using Bose–Einstein condensate
Bose–Einstein condensate
A Bose–Einstein condensate is a state of matter of a dilute gas of weakly interacting bosons confined in an external potential and cooled to temperatures very near absolute zero . Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state of the external potential, at...
s. Details of the experiment are discussed in the February 8, 2007 publication of the journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
.
Further reading
Article subtitle: "Lene Vestergaard Hau made headlines by slowing light to below highway speed. Now the ringmaster of light can stop it, extinguish it and revive it - and thereby give quantum information a new look."