On October 19, Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. William D. Phillips will be giving a lecture in the Department of Physics! In this lecture, he explores the most radical transformation of the International System of Units (SI) since its origins in the French Revolution. Instead of relying on physical artefacts, all base units are now defined by fixed values of natural constants. Our measurement system is now, both philosophically and practically, strongly quantum. The talk explains why this reform was necessary and how it works. 

Phillips is an American physicist best known for his pioneering work on laser cooling and the trapping of atoms. For the development of techniques that use laser light to slow atoms to extremely low temperatures - enabling breakthroughs in precision measurement and atomic physics - he was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji. Phillips spent much of his career at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and also served as a professor at the University of Maryland, where he is highly regarded for both his research and his commitment to science education.

The lecture will be held in Lecture Hall 1.03 and will last approximately one hour. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end and the lecture is followed by an apéro.