Rudolf Grimm
Encyclopedia
Rudolf Grimm is an experimental physicist from Austria
. His work centres on ultracold atom
s and quantum gases. He was the first scientist worldwide who, with his team, succeeded in realizing a Bose-Einstein condensation from molecule
s.
from the University of Hannover in 1986. From 1986 to 1989 he was a post-graduate researcher at the ETH Zurich
(Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), then went on to the Institute of Spectroscopy of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Troitsk
near Moscow
for half a year. He spent the next ten years in Heidelberg
as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
. In 1994, Grimm applied to the University of Heidelberg to qualify as a professor by receiving the “venia docendi
” in experimental physics
. In the year 2000, he was appointed to a chair in experimental physics at the University of Innsbruck, where he has been Dean
of the Faculty for Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics since 2005 and Director of the Research Center for Quantum Physics from 2006. Since 2003, Grimm has also held the position of Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
(IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
(ÖAW). Grimm is married, with three children.
s and molecule
s and on fermionic quantum gas
es. In 2002 his working group succeeded for the first time ever to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate from caesium
atoms. In the following year, the team produced the first Bose-Einstein condensate from molecules (simultaneously with Deborah S. Jin
's group at JILA, Boulder
). In 2004, the Innsbruck scientists achieved a Fermionic condensate
. Their work was ranked among the top ten global achievements in the natural sciences for that year by Science
. In his work on collective oscillations and pairing energies, Grimm found first evidence of the flow of particles without any loss of energy (superfluidity) in Fermi condensates. Meanwhile Grimm and his team have succeeded in producing more complex molecules in ultracold quantum gases. Currently Grimm is concentrating his efforts on producing mixed condensation from atoms of different elements. In 2006, his working group also managed to lift the veil on an old mystery of physics: they succeeded in the first experimental observation of Efimov State
s, mysterious quantum states that the Russian scientist Vitali Efimov
had theoretically predicted in the early 1970s.
made him „Austrian (Researcher) of the Year 2005“. Years before, he had won the Gerhard Hess Prize, a new blood stipend of the German Research Foundation
(DFG) (1996), and the Silver Medal of the ETH Zurich (1989). Recently he received the Beller Lectureship Award of the American Physical Society
(APS) (2007), the Science Award of the Region of Tyrol
(2008) and was named „Austrian Scientist of the Year 2009“ by the Austrian Club of Education and Science Journalists. In 2006, Grimm became a full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. His work centres on ultracold atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s and quantum gases. He was the first scientist worldwide who, with his team, succeeded in realizing a Bose-Einstein condensation from molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
s.
Career
Grimm graduated in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the University of Hannover in 1986. From 1986 to 1989 he was a post-graduate researcher at the ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
(Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), then went on to the Institute of Spectroscopy of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Troitsk
Troitsk
Troitsk may refer to:*Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia*Troitsk, Moscow Oblast, a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Troitsk, Republic of Mordovia, a village in the Republic of Mordovia, Russia...
near Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
for half a year. He spent the next ten years in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik is aresearch institute in Heidelberg, Germany.The institute is one of the 80 institutes of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft , an independent, non-profit research organization. The Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics has been founded in 1958 under the...
. In 1994, Grimm applied to the University of Heidelberg to qualify as a professor by receiving the “venia docendi
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
” in experimental physics
Experimental physics
Within the field of physics, experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines concerned with the observation of physical phenomena in order to gather data about the universe...
. In the year 2000, he was appointed to a chair in experimental physics at the University of Innsbruck, where he has been Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty for Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics since 2005 and Director of the Research Center for Quantum Physics from 2006. Since 2003, Grimm has also held the position of Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
The Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information is an child institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and was founded in November 2003...
(IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Austrian Academy of Sciences
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research...
(ÖAW). Grimm is married, with three children.
Research
The work of the experimental physicist concentrates on Bose-Einstein condensation of atomAtom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s and molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
s and on fermionic quantum gas
Fermi gas
A Fermi gas is an ensemble of a large number of fermions. Fermions, named after Enrico Fermi, are particles that obey Fermi–Dirac statistics. These statistics determine the energy distribution of fermions in a Fermi gas in thermal equilibrium, and is characterized by their number density,...
es. In 2002 his working group succeeded for the first time ever to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate from caesium
Caesium
Caesium or cesium is the chemical element with the symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-gold alkali metal with a melting point of 28 °C , which makes it one of only five elemental metals that are liquid at room temperature...
atoms. In the following year, the team produced the first Bose-Einstein condensate from molecules (simultaneously with Deborah S. Jin
Deborah S. Jin
Deborah S. Jin is a physicist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology ; Professor Adjoint, Department of Physics at the University of Colorado; a fellow of the JILA, a NIST joint laboratory with the University of Colorado. In 2003, Dr. Jin's team at JILA made the first fermionic...
's group at JILA, Boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
). In 2004, the Innsbruck scientists achieved a Fermionic condensate
Fermionic condensate
A fermionic condensate is a superfluid phase formed by fermionic particles at low temperatures. It is closely related to the Bose–Einstein condensate, a superfluid phase formed by bosonic atoms under similar conditions. Unlike the Bose–Einstein condensates, fermionic condensates are formed using...
. Their work was ranked among the top ten global achievements in the natural sciences for that year by Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
. In his work on collective oscillations and pairing energies, Grimm found first evidence of the flow of particles without any loss of energy (superfluidity) in Fermi condensates. Meanwhile Grimm and his team have succeeded in producing more complex molecules in ultracold quantum gases. Currently Grimm is concentrating his efforts on producing mixed condensation from atoms of different elements. In 2006, his working group also managed to lift the veil on an old mystery of physics: they succeeded in the first experimental observation of Efimov State
Efimov State
The Efimov effect is an effect in the quantum mechanics of Few-body systems predicted by the Soviet theoretical physicist V. N. Efimov in 1970. Efimov’s effect refers to a scenario in which three identical bosons interact, with the prediction of an infinite series of excited three-body energy...
s, mysterious quantum states that the Russian scientist Vitali Efimov
Vitaly Efimov
Vitaly N. Efimov is a Russian theoretical physicist. He proposed the existence of a novel and exotic state of matter now dubbed the Efimov State as a researcher in A.F...
had theoretically predicted in the early 1970s.
Awards
Grimm has received numerous awards for his achievements. In 2005 he was presented with the Wittgenstein Award, Austria’s highest scientific accolade. In the same year, the Austrian daily paper Die PresseDie Presse
Die Presse is an Austrian daily newspaper based in Vienna. It was founded in 1946 by World War II resistance fighter Ernst Molden and stands in tradition of the Viennese newspapers "Die Presse" and "Neue Freie Presse" . The paper covers general news topics...
made him „Austrian (Researcher) of the Year 2005“. Years before, he had won the Gerhard Hess Prize, a new blood stipend of the German Research Foundation
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
(DFG) (1996), and the Silver Medal of the ETH Zurich (1989). Recently he received the Beller Lectureship Award of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(APS) (2007), the Science Award of the Region of Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
(2008) and was named „Austrian Scientist of the Year 2009“ by the Austrian Club of Education and Science Journalists. In 2006, Grimm became a full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.