JILA News
Professor Cindy Regal, Baur-SPIE Chair at JILA, has been named a 2025 Brown Investigator by the Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech.
In a thrilling display of scientific communication and creativity, Thi Hoang, a graduate student at JILA, emerged victorious at the inaugural Quantum Science Slam held during the CLEO 2025 conference. This new event, designed to bring cutting-edge science to life for a broader audience, saw participants deliver engaging and entertaining 10-minute presentations on their research.
On April 16th, over 100 graduate students, undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, research scientists, and PIs attended the first JILA Association of Graduate Students (JAGS) Industry Spotlight.
Jun Ye, a distinguished Fellow at JILA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a physics professor at the °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï, has been honored with the 2025 Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis.
Dr. Olivia Krohn, a former JILA graduate student and now a postdoctoral researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, has been awarded the prestigious Justin Jankunas dissertation award, given out by the American Physical Society (APS) division of chemical physics at the APS Global Summit conference. This award recognizes exceptional doctoral research that advances the frontiers of physics. Krohn’s award highlights her dissertation research, which bridges the legacy of JILA’s origins in astrophysics with its current role as a global leader in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics.
Congratulations to JILA graduate students Anya Grafov and Iona Binnie—who conduct their cutting-edge research in the laboratory of JILA Fellows and the °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn—for their outstanding achievements at the MMM Intermag 2025 conference!
Carl Sauer, a distinguished electrical engineer, passed away on February 2nd, 2025. He is survived by his wife and two sons, Carl and Evan. Sauer's passion for electrical engineering led him to a remarkable career marked by innovation and dedication.
JILA graduate student Clay Klein has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship, presented by SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, and Siemens EDA. The scholarship, valued at $10,000, recognizes Klein’s outstanding contributions to the field of optics and photonics.
JILA Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physicist and °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï physics professor Dr. Adam Kaufman has been awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). President Joe Biden announced that this accolade represents the highest honor conferred by the U.S. government to early-career scientists and engineers who exhibit extraordinary potential and leadership in their respective fields. Kaufman’s groundbreaking contributions to quantum science have cemented his place among nearly 400 recipients recognized for their innovative research and commitment to advancing scientific frontiers.
JILA Fellow and the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS) at the °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï Distinguished Professor Mitch Begelman has been inducted as a 2025 American Astronomical Society (AAS) Fellow. Joining Professor Begelman in this recognition are APS Professors James Green and J. Michael Shull, now an Adjunct Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Together, their contributions underscore CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s leadership in astrophysics and planetary sciences.