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Award for Piet O. Schmidt

The Head of the QUEST Institute at PTB has been awarded the EFTF Research Prize for the co-development of one of the currently best atomic clocks in the world.

04.05.2010

Prof. Piet O. Schmidt, Head of the QUEST Institute at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, Germany, received the Young Scientist Award at this year's EFTF Conference (European Frequency and Time Forum) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This prize is awarded to researchers under 40 who have performed outstandingly in their field. Together with his colleagues, P. O. Schmidt has managed to "tame" the aluminium ion which was considered a promising candidate for the most precise atomic clock ever.

 

 

(credit: original-okerland)

This ion, however, was difficult to control - until Prof. Schmidt and his team conceived the so-called quantum logic spectroscopy. By means of this method, the currently most accurate atomic clock in the world was put into operation at the beginning of the year at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder/Colorado. Schmidt has ambitious plans for the future: he would like to build an even more accurate aluminium clock in Braunschweig.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Piet O. Schmidt, QUEST-Institute at PTB,
phone: +49 531 592-4700,
e-mail: piet.schmidt(at)ptb.de
 
Dr. Ude Cieluch, QUEST Public and Media Relations,
phone: +49 511 762-17240,
e-mail: ude.cieluch(at)quest.uni-hannover.de