The Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded today for work in the field of quantum optics, an area of physics that was pioneered in large part at the University of Rochester. According to Professor Nicholas Bigelow, Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester and who is a leading expert in the same field as the 2012 Nobel Prize winners in Physics:
"Some of the central ideas of quantum physics are puzzling and even disturbing. Through a series of beautiful experiments, Wineland and Haroche (and others) have shown that these startling aspects of quantum physics are not limitations but resources. Their work has provided a better understanding of Nature and opened the door to new technologies that are already having commercial impact."
"Both Haroche and Wineland are familiar faces at the University of Rochester, notably as speakers at and organizers of the University's conference series on Coherence and Quantum Optics. We are all excited by today's announcement and we are especially proud because the University of Rochester is recognized as a birthplace of quantum optics as a field."
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2012 was awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems."