Serge Haroche facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Serge Haroche
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Haroche in Stockholm (2012)
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| Born | 11 September 1944 |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | École normale supérieure Pierre and Marie Curie University (PhD) |
| Known for | Cavity quantum electrodynamics |
| Awards | CNRS Gold medal (2009) Nobel Prize for Physics (2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University Yale University Collège de France |
| Doctoral advisor | Claude Cohen-Tannoudji |
Serge Haroche (born 11 September 1944) is a famous French physicist. He won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics along with David J. Wineland. They received the award for their amazing work on measuring and controlling tiny quantum systems. This included studying photons, which are particles of light. His work also helped develop laser spectroscopy, a way to study how light interacts with matter.
Since 2001, Haroche has been a professor at the Collège de France. He holds a special position in quantum physics. In 2022, he also held the Fermi Chair of Physics at the University of Rome La Sapienza. In 1971, he earned his PhD in physics from the University of Paris VI. His research was guided by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji.
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Early Life and Education
Serge Haroche was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family moved to France in 1956. This was after the French protectorate treaty in Morocco ended.
His family had a mix of Sephardic and Ashkenazi backgrounds. His grandparents were teachers at the École de l’Alliance israélite (AIU). This school helped educate Jewish communities.
Career Highlights
Haroche started his career as a research scientist in 1967. He worked at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France. He also spent a year (1972–1973) as a visiting researcher at Stanford University in the United States.
In 1975, he became a professor at Paris VI University. He also taught at many other well-known universities. These included the École polytechnique, MIT, Harvard University, and Yale University. From 1994 to 2000, he led the Physics department at the École Normale Supérieure.
Since 2001, Professor Haroche has been a professor at the Collège de France. He holds the special chair of quantum physics. He is also a member of several important physics societies. These include the American Physical Society. In September 2012, his fellow scientists chose him to be the administrator of the Collège de France.
On 9 October 2012, Serge Haroche received the Nobel Prize in Physics. He shared it with American physicist David Wineland. They were honored for their work on measuring and controlling individual quantum systems. In 2020, he was part of a committee to find the next president of the European Research Council.
Groundbreaking Research
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Haroche mainly studies atomic physics and quantum optics. This means he looks at how light and matter interact at a very tiny level. He is famous for showing quantum decoherence through experiments in 1996. This is how tiny quantum systems lose their special "quantum" properties when they interact with their surroundings.
After his PhD, he created new ways to use laser spectroscopy. He then focused on Rydberg atoms. These are "giant" atoms that are very sensitive to microwaves. This makes them perfect for studying how light and matter interact. He showed that these atoms, when placed in a special superconducting cavity with a few photons, are great for testing quantum decoherence. They can also help create quantum logic operations. These operations are needed for working with quantum information, which is important for future quantum computers.
Awards and Honors
- Commander of the French Legion of Honour
- 1988 Einstein Prize for Laser Science
- 1990 Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1992 The Humboldt Prize
- 1993 Albert A. Michelson Medal
- 2007 Charles Hard Townes Award
- 2009 CNRS Gold medal
- 2010 Herbert Walther Award
- 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with David J. Wineland)
- 2017 IEEE Honorary Membership
Personal Life
Serge Haroche lives in Paris with his wife, Claudine Haroche. She is a sociologist. They have two children. He is also the uncle of the French singer and actor Raphaël Haroche.
See also
In Spanish: Serge Haroche para niños
- List of nonreligious Nobel laureates
- Quantum decoherence
- Ramsey interferometry
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
