Contents
Steven Chu
Developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
Laser cooling · Nobel Prize in Physics
- Born
- 28 February 1948
- Birthplace
- St. Louis, Missouri, United States
More people
Steven Chu
American physicist and former U.S. energy secretary whose research helped make extremely precise experiments with atoms possible.
Early life
Academic family
Grew up in a family with strong connections to science and education.
University training
Studied at Rochester and earned a physics doctorate at Berkeley.
Career
- 1970s–1980s
Laboratory research
Worked at Bell Labs and developed laser-cooling experiments.
- 1987–2000s
Stanford and Berkeley
Led academic research and later directed Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
- 2009 onward
Energy and research
Served as U.S. energy secretary before returning to Stanford.
Contributions
Laser cooling
Demonstrated powerful methods for slowing atoms with light.
Nobel Prize in Physics
Shared the award with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William Phillips.
Energy secretary
Led the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration.
Beyond the lab
Climate and energy
Advocated scientific responses to climate change and cleaner energy systems.
Interdisciplinary work
Extended his research interests into biological measurement and imaging.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Department of Energy. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
