DAVID E. PRITCHARD, Cecil
and Ida Green Professor of Physics; Associate Director, Research Laboratory
of Electronics
Research Interests
Professor David E. Pritchard is a principal
investigator in the
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Group and works on
Basic Atomic
Physics in the Research Laboratory of Electronics.
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Biographical Sketch
Professor Pritchard carried out pioneering
experiments on the interaction of atoms with light that led to the
creation of the field of atom optics. His demonstration of the diffraction
of a beam of atoms by a grating made of light waves opened the way
to studies of the diffraction, reflection, and focusing of matter
waves, similar to those with light waves. He has applied atom optics
to basic studies of quantum theory, to new methods for studying
the properties of atoms, and to the creation of devices such as
the atom interferometer and atom wave gyroscope.
Professor Pritchard's investigations in atom-light
interactions also led him into the field of laser cooling where
he made a number of pioneering contributions, including the work
that led to the creation of the magneto-optical trap. This device
became the workhorse in atom cooling experiments, including most
studies of Bose-Einstein condensation. In 1990, he brought Wolfgang
Ketterle to MIT as a postdoctoral researcher to work on atom
cooling, and stepped aside from that field to allow Ketterle to
be appointed to the faculty in 1992. Ketterle pursued atom cooling
to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation in 1995, a discovery for which
he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001, along with Eric
Cornell and Carl Wieman of JILA, Boulder, CO. Professor Pritchard
also mentored Eric Cornell, who was his graduate student. Professor
Pritchard is currently collaborating with Ketterle to merge Bose-Einstein
condensation with atom optics, using the atom laser as a source
of coherent atoms for basic studies in quantum physics, new types
of atom interferometry, and possibly to applications in nanotechnology
and quantum computing.
Professor Pritchard is also a dedicated teacher.
During the past few years he has developed a computer-based tutorial
for elementary mechanics called Cybertutor,
which has been used successfully in versions of 8.01:
Physics I.
Professor Pritchard received his B.S. from
California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Harvard, working
with Professor Daniel Kleppner, who soon thereafter came to MIT,
bringing Pritchard with him as a postdoctoral fellow. Pritchard
joined the faculty of the Department of Physics in 1970. He has
many honors, including the Broida Prize of the American Physical
Society. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and
is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Selected Publications
D. Pritchard, TechEd99, ed. A. Ellis
(1999). Preliminary report on NSF Workshop on Improving Undergraduate
Education in Math and Physical Sciences using Technology, NSF.
D. Pritchard and N. Schmidt (1999). "Cybertutor:
An Online Socratic Tutor." Insider - MIT Academic Computing
10(2): 6-7.
"Atom Cooling, Trapping, and Quantum
Manipulation," C. E. Wieman, D. J. Wineland, and D. E. Pritchard,
Rev. Mod. Phys. Centennial Issue, S253-S252.
"High-densities of Cold Atoms in a DARK
Spontaneous-force Optical Trap," W. Ketterle, K. Davis, M.
Joffe, A. Martin, and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70,
2253 (1993).
"Atom Optics," D. E. Pritchard,
Atomic Physics 12, ed. J. C. Zorn, R. R. Lewis, and M. Weiss
(assoc. ed.). Amer. Inst. of Physics, pp. 165-170 New York
(1991).
"Accurate Atomic Mass Measurements from
Penning Trap Mass Comparisons of Individual Ions," F. DiFilippo,
V. Natarajan, M. Bradley, F. Palmer, and D. E. Pritchard, Atomic
Physics 14, Boulder, CO, 1994, eds., D. J. Wineland, C. E. Wieman
and S. J. Smith, New York: AIP (1995) pp 149-175.
"Exoergic Collisions of Cold Na*-Na,"
A. Gallagher and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Ref. Lett. 63, 957
(1989).
"Bragg Scattering of Atoms from a Standing
Light Wave," P. J. Martin, B. G. Oldaker, A. H. Miklich, and
D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 515 (1988).
"Quasi-resonant V<- ->R Transfer
in Atom-Diatom Collisions," B. Stewart, P. D. Magill, T. P.
Scott, J. Derouard, and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett.
60, 282 (1988).
"Trapping of Neutral Sodium Atoms with
Radiation Pressure," E. L. Raab, M. Prentiss, A. Cable, S.
Chu, and D. E. Pritchard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2631 (1987).
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