Optica (formerly OSA) and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) have named Jun Ye, JILA University of Colorado Boulder, USA, the recipient of the 2022 Herbert Walther Award.
Ye is recognized "for an extensive body of work in optics, including ultra-stable lasers, ultra-cold polar molecules, ultra-high resolution spectroscopy, and ultra-high accuracy optical clocks."
"A global leader in quantum optics and atomic physics, Ye's work has made many significant advances including developing some of the most precise measurement instruments we have ever seen," said 2021 Optica President Connie Chang-Hasnain, Whinnery Chair Professor Emerita of EECS at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. "The Walther Award is a well-deserved recognition of his extraordinary contributions."
The award commemorates Max Planck Institute of Quantum Physics Professor Herbert Walther's groundbreaking innovations in quantum optics and atomic physics and other wide-ranging contributions to the scientific community. The Herbert Walther Award recognizes distinguished contributions in quantum optics and atomic physics as well as leadership in the international scientific community.
Jun Ye is a professor adjoint of physics at JILA University of Colorado Boulder. His research focuses on the frontiers of light-matter interactions, including precision measurement, quantum science, ultracold matter and frequency metrology.
He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and studied theoretical quantum optics with Optica Fellow Marlan Scully at the University of New Mexico, USA, earning his master's degree in 1991. Ye received his PhD in physics in 1997 from the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate and Optica Honorary Member John Hall. He was a Milikan Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology before returning to the University of Colorado Boulder.
A Fellow of JILA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), he has co-authored 380 papers and delivered 600 invited talks. Ye is an Optica and American Physical Society Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His numerous awards and honors include Optica's Adolph Lomb Medal and William F. Meggers Award, the Presidential Rank Award, Norman F. Ramsey Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
