Tobias Kippenberg wins the 2014 National Latsis Prize
Tobias Kippenberg ©2014 Alain Herzog/EPFL
Tobias Kippenberg has been awarded the National Latsis Prize for 2014 for his work on cavity quantum optomechanics.
The National Latsis Prize, is among the most important scientific distinctions in Switzerland, and includes a monetary award of CHF 100,000. It is given by the SNSF awards on behalf of the International Latsis Foundation to recognize “researchers up to the age of 40 for exceptional scientific work conducted in Switzerland.” This is the 31st award of the Latsis National Prize, and will be presented to Kippenberg by the Swiss National Science Foundation on 14 January 2015, in a ceremony at the Bern townhall.
Tobias Kippenberg is a professor at the Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements at EPFL. His research aims to discover and study quantum laws using macroscopic systems such as mechanical resonators, a field known as quantum optomechanics. He studies optical microresonators. These tiny devices are designed to store photons and phonons in a small volume for a prolonged period of time, giving rise to observable radiation pressure effects. In 2014, Kippenberg published a paper in Nature, showing for the first time that, in temperatures close to absolute zero, light and mechanical motion can be so strongly coupled that they exchange energy faster than they decohere. This regime, which connects light with a mechanical effect is known as “quantum coherent coupling” and allows coherent exchange of states between light and mechanics.
The Latsis Foundation was created in Geneva in 1975 by the Greek family of John S. Latsis, and it is awarded each year by the Swiss National Science Foundation on behalf of the Foundation. In addition to the National Prize, there are also four University Latsis Prizes of CHF 25,000 each, which are awarded by the University of Geneva, the University of St Gallen, the ETHZ and EPFL.