Three JILA Fellows named 2018 APS Fellows

Three JILA Fellows have been named 2018 Fellows of the American Physical Society. The three new Fellows—Andreas Becker, Heather J. Lewandowski, and James K. Thompson—were nominated from varying divisions of APS.

Andreas Becker was nominated by the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical physics for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of atoms and molecules in intense light fields, including seminal theoretical studies of attosecond dynamics, photoionization, complex electron dynamics in simple systems such as H2, and a better understanding of high-harmonic generation.

Heather J. Lewandowski was nominated by the APS Forum on Education for her pioneering and comprehensive research on, and leading development of resources for, teaching and learning in advanced physics instructional lab courses.

James K. Thompson was nominated by the APS Topical Precision Measurements & Fundamental Constants for his development of precision measurement techniques, in particular for atomic mass and for measurements with atomic ensembles beyond the standard quantum limit.

Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership (excluding student members) is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society. For 2018, APS selected only 155 Fellows. Of these new fellows, 23 percent are women, which is a 77 percent increase in the fraction of women in the 2017 Fellows class.

The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the Society.

Since 1965, JILA has seen 23 of its own Fellows named APS Fellows.