Hänsch, Theodor Wolfgang

Hänsch, Theodor Wolfgang,

1941–, German physicist, Ph.D. Heidelberg, 1969. He was a professor at Stanford from 1975 to 1986 and then became head of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany, and professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians Univ., Munich. Hänsch received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics with John HallHall, John Lewis,
1934–, American physicist, b. Denver, Colo., Ph.D. Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1961. He has been a researcher at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colo., since 1962.
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 and Roy GlauberGlauber, Roy Jay,
1925–2018, American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Harvard, 1949. From 1952 he was on the faculty at Harvard, where he became a professor in 1956.
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 for their work in advancing optics technology. Hänsch and Hall were cited for their development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, which enables the color of the light of atoms and molecules to be determined with tremendous precision. The technique, which aids in precise timing in communication systems, provided the foundation for the development of extremely accurate clocks and improved global positioning system technology.