Approximately 5-1/2 hours of video footage documenting an interview with Dr. William Phillips, a physicist and Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1997). Phillips discusses his background, work at the National Institute of Standards (NIST) using laser light to cool gases to the lowest temperature ever achieved, and his memories of winning the Nobel Prize.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains approximately 5-1⁄2 hours of original (digital), master (BetaCam SP), and reference videos (VHS) documenting William Phillips, physicist and Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1997). Audience participants are students from Ormond Stone Middle School (Centreville, Virginia); Queen Anne School (Upper Marlboro, Maryland); Nysmith School (Herndon, Virginia): and Gwynn Park Middle School (Brandywine, Maryland).
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series.
Series 1, Original Videos, 2001
Series 2, Master Videos, 2001
Series 3, Reference Videos, 2001
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. William Phillips was born November 5, 1948 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. from Juniata College in 1970 and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976. Phillips was awarded the Chaim Weizmann Fellowship at MIT to work on collisions and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in spin-polarized hydrogen. After leaving MIT in1978, Phillips joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) which was renamed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). At NIST, Phillips worked on precision measurements of the proton gyromagnetic ratio and of the Absolute Ampere. Also, he pursued laser cooling experiments which led him and colleagues Steve Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997.
The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is: to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation; to encourage inventive creativity in young people; and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States. The Innovative Lives series brings together museum visitors and, especially, school aged children, and American inventors to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product. This collection was recorded by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Nobel Voices Video History Project (AC0771)
Provenance:
Transferred to the Archives Center by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, May 17, 2001.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Signed releases on file.
