Peter Engels, professor of physics and astronomy, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in recognition of his pioneering work studying Bose-Einstein condensates – clouds of atoms laser-cooled to the point where they behave like one wave instead of discrete particles.
“This recognition bears testimony to Washington State University’s strengths in physics and in the fundamental sciences in general, which form the basis for strong research endeavors at WSU,” Engels said.
His research is advancing fundamental understanding of the laws of quantum physics. This could eventually help in the development of ultrapowerful quantum computers and a wide variety of advanced sensors for taking measurements of quantities such as gravity, rotations and magnetic fields.