Rice Professors Recognized for Contributions to Physics

Contact: Philip Montgomery
Phone: 713-831-4792

Rice Professors Recognized for Contributions to Physics

James Kinsey, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences,
and Randall Hulet, associate professor of physics, recently received
recognition from the American Physical Society (APS) for their
contributions to physics.

In November, the society notified the professors that Kinsey,
who is also a professor of chemistry, will receive the 1995 Earle K.
Plyler Prize at the March APS meeting in San Jose, Calif., and that
Hulet will receive the 1995 I.I. Rabi Prize during the May meeting
of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics in
Toronto, Canada. Each recipient will receive $5,000.

The 94-year-old American Physical Society is a nonprofit
scientific and educational society run by physicists for the benefit
of physics. The society consists of more than 43,000 scientists from
around the world.

In a letter to Kinsey, Burton Richter, the president of APS,
said the Rice dean was chosen "for his outstanding contributions to
molecular spectroscopy." Spectroscopy involves the measurement of
the absorption and emission spectra of electromagnetic radiation,
such as light.

Kinsey said that, as a chemist, he was flattered to be honored
by the society of physicists for his work in spectroscopy.

"I have always regarded myself as on the fringes of
spectroscopy, so I am pleased that the real spectroscopists would
consider me one of their clan," said Kinsey. "I hope the recognition
makes the members of my research group feel good about their hard
work, because it is really their efforts that made it possible."

Kinsey and his research group seek to understand chemical
reactions on an atomic level.

The American Physical Society citation praised Hulet for "his
contributions to a broad range of important problems in atomics and
optical physics including cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum
jumps, ion storage and laser cooling of atoms."

"I am very pleased to be selected as the recipient of the I.I.
Rabi Prize," said Hulet. "My research on the interaction of atoms
with laser radiation is directly linked to Rabi’s development of
magnetic resonance in the 1930s."

Isador Issac Rabi was an American physicist who received the
Nobel Prize for measuring the magnetic movements of disturbed atomic
nuclei. He lived from 1898 to 1988.

The citation also refers to Hulet’s work in the field of laser
cooling of atoms. Laser cooling is a process of removing kinetic
energy from gaseous atoms, explained Hulet.

"Our contribution to this field has been to develop a method for
laser cooling that uses multiple laser photons," said Hulet. "Our
process is more efficient than the conventional laser cooling
process."

Rice University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian
private university dedicated to undergraduate teaching and graduate
studies, research and professional training in selected disciplines.
It has an undergraduate student population of 2,572, a graduate and
professional student population of 1,375 and a full-time faculty of
448.

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