Rainer Blatt has been awarded with the John Stewart Bell Prize
The 2015 John Stewart Bell Prize for Research on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and Their Applications has been awarded to Prof. Rainer Blatt.
The John Stewart Bell Prize for Research on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and their Applications (short form: "Bell Prize") was established in 2009, and is awarded every odd-numbered year, for significant contributions first published in the preceding 6 years. The award is meant to recognize major advances relating to the foundations of quantum mechanics and to the applications of these principles – this covers, but is not limited to, quantum information theory, quantum computation, quantum foundations, quantum cryptography, and quantum control. The award is not intended as a "lifetime achievement" award, but rather to highlight the continuing rapid pace of research in these areas, and the fruitful interplay of fundamental research and potential applications. It is intended to cover even-handedly both of these aspects, and to include both theoretical and experimental contributions.
The award is funded and managed by the University of Toronto Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC), but the award selection is be handled by an arms-length selection committee which rotates on a 4-year cycle.
Rainer Blatt has made seminal contributions to quantum optics, precision measurement and quantum information with trapped ions. His work is among the greatest advances in atomic physics and experimental quantum information of the last decade. Setting the stage for these recent achievements, his early work in quantum optics included the observation of quantum jumps of a trapped ion in Hamburg, and the laser cooling of neutral atoms in a chirped beam slower during his time as a postdoc. Atoms trapped in an ion trap have become the leading platform for quantum information processing starting from the mid-1990s when theorists Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller proposed a quantum logical gate for this system. Rainer Blatt was one of the first to realize the remarkable potential of trapped ions for quantum information processing. Experimental implementation of quantum logic operations with ions required overcoming formidable challenges. In 2004 Rainer Blatt’s group succeeded in transferring the quantum information of one atom onto another atom in a totally controlled manner (quantum teleportation). Although several other platforms for quantum information processes have been proposed and pursued experimentally, Rainer Blatt’s group have championed the “scaling up” race by demonstrating entanglement of eight atoms in a controlled manner in 2006. Creating such a first “quantum byte” (qubyte) was a further step on the way towards a quantum computer. In 2011 the Rainer Blatt managed to push this record to 14 entangled atoms.
More information here.
Congratulations!