Natural SciencesPhysicsParticle PhysicsQuantum MechanicsTheoretical PhysicsCold Atom PhysicsExperimental PhysicsLaser CoolingLaser PhysicsLaser TrappingQuantum OpticsAnderson LocalizationEnergy TransferHistory Of LaboratoriesLaser Cooling Of Neutral AtomsLasersMemo WritingMicroscopy
The written version of my lecture is a personal account of the development of laser cooling and trapping. Rather than give a balanced history of the field, I chose to present a personal glimpse of how my colleagues and I created our path of research. I joined Bell Laboratories in the fall of 1978 after working with Eugene Commins as a graduate student and post-doc at Berkeley on a parity nonconservation experiment in atomic physics (Conti et al., 1979; see also Chu, Commins, and Conti, 1977). Bell Labs was a researcher’s paradise. Our management supplied us with funding, shielded us from bureaucracy, and urged us to do the best science possible. The cramped labs and office cubicles forced us to rub shoulders with each other. Animated discussions frequently interrupted seminars,