In recognition of his contributions to unraveling the fundamental interaction between light and matter and unlocking extraordinary new perspectives in atomic physics; of discoveries that improve our understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics and whose practical applications will significantly advance communication and computation; and of his association with the Weizmann Institute of Science as an inspiring mentor to many of its scientists.
Quantum physicist and Nobel Laureate Prof. Serge Haroche has actualized Einstein’s dream of isolating and studying individual photons without destroying them. By enabling quantification and control of very fragile quantum states, heretofore inaccessible for direct observation, he has tested the field of quantum mechanics at its most fundamental level, opening the way to harnessing it for applications in quantum computing.
Haroche was born in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1944, into a family with roots in Odessa and Marrakech that moved to France twelve years later. Fascinated that nature can be understood through mathematical laws, he was drawn to physics, enrolling at the École Normale Supérieure, and defending his doctoral thesis, researched under Prof. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, at the University of Paris VI in 1971. Following postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Haroche served as a professor at Paris VI University and at Yale University. In 2001, he was appointed Professor of Quantum Physics at the Collège de France, where, in 2012, he was elected by his peers as president.
By isolating particles of light and matter with their mysterious quantum properties intact from environments, Haroche has opened the door to a new era of quantum physics experimentation. His research enables seemingly bizarre predicted phenomena to be directly observed, thus moving investigation from the thought experiments of quantum mechanics’ founding fathers to their realization in the laboratory. The control, manipulation, and moving of systems at the quantum level is a vital stage on the path toward a new type of logic gate – the digital circuit’s elementary building block. Such gates obey the laws of quantum mechanics; manipulating their components enables transferring information back and forth.
Serge Haroche’s work has been widely recognized with many important prizes and awards, culminating in the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics, which he shared with David Wineland. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Member of the U.S. and Brazilian National Academies of Sciences.
Prof. Haroche is a frequent visitor to Israel and participant in many of its national and international conferences. He is also an active and valued member of the Weizmann Institute’s International Board and serves on its Scientific Academic Advisory Committee.