(Posted September 26, 2017)

Huntingdon, Pa. – William Phillips, who was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, will be coming to Juniata College to present a multimedia presentation, “Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe.” Phillips will be speaking at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 in Alumni Hall in the Brumbaugh Academic Center. The event is free and open to the public. 

According to Jim Borgardt, a professor of physics at Juniata, Phillips’ presentation includes experimental demonstrations that utilize the principles of extreme heat or cold, expressed in easy to understand, down-to-earth terms. 

“William Phillips is a very animated, enthusiastic and dynamic speaker, known to run and jump with excitement around the room,” said Borgardt. “He creates live demonstrations using liquid nitrogen, which is always a crowd favorite, especially for children.”

Phillips will discuss the scientific methods he identified to cool and trap atoms with laser light. In short, he will discuss the techniques for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. The ability to utilize super cold atoms, with temperatures that can be below a billionth of a degree above absolute zero, enables scientists to tests some of Einstein’s strangest predictions. Phillips relates some of today’s hottest and “coolest” science to the impact his research has had on on physics, commercial products and the world. 

A 1970 graduate of Juniata, Phillips is committed to maintaining a relationship with the College by ensuring each physics student has the opportunity to attend a lecture by a world-class physicist. He currently works in the Joint Quantum Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology which is located in Gaithersburg, Md. 

"William Phillips is a very animated, enthusiastic and dynamic speaker, known to run and jump with excitement around the room," says Jim Borgardt, professor of physics. "He creates live demonstrations using liquid nitrogen, which is always a crowd favorite, especially for children."

– Written by Anna Kauffman ’19 – 

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.