Yale Bulletin & Calendar
November 16, 2001

New hires are 'coup' for physics departments 

Yale has bolstered its Departments of Physics and Applied Physics with the addition of three
noted professors, including French recruit Michel Devoret, hailed as one of the leading
experimental condensed matter physicists of his generation, who will join the Department of
Applied Physics in January. 

The other two hires, who are already at Yale, are Steven Girvin, who shares Devoret's
research interests, and Meg Urry. Both are professors in the Department of Physics. Devoret
and Girvin are adding their talents to Yale's microelectronics program, which is a strong joint
effort with the Department of Electrical Engineering. 

"The appointment of these scientists, in conjunction with existing strength in the field, will make
Yale among the premier centers of graduate training and research in nanostructure physics in
the country," says Douglas Stone, chair of applied physics. "We are truly excited to have such
an incredible amount of talent at Yale." 

Devoret is currently director of research of the Condensed Matter Physics Section of the
French CEA (Atomic Energy Research Center) at Saclay, a government laboratory in a suburb
of Paris. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Orsay in 1982 and did postdoctoral
research at the University of California at Berkeley before going to Saclay. He has received
many international awards for his work, which focuses on mesoscopic physics, the study of
matter on a scale that is larger than atoms yet much smaller than visible objects. Devoret's
experiments have recently focused on developing the components for a "quantum computer,"
which would work exponentially faster than current computers. 

Devoret first came to Yale in 1999 as a visiting research scientist. Stone says he had such a
wonderful collaborative experience in the lab with young scientists in applied physics, such as
Robert Schoelkopf and Robert Grober, that he wanted to continue that experience. 

"Adding these three stellar scientists is an important manifestation of Yale's commitment to
having its science and engineering programs be among the world's best," says Paul Fleury,
dean of engineering. "We are particularly pleased that the interactions between Professors
Devoret and Girvin will strengthen the faculty of engineering departments and the physical
sciences in the emerging area of condensed matter quantum phenomena and devices." 

Steve Girvin 

Girvin has indicated that he was attracted to Yale by the prospect of working with the
condensed matter theory group of Nick Read, Subir Sachdev, Ramamurti Shankar and Stone,
and also influenced by Devoret's decision to come. Girvin is a theoretical physicist who studies
the quantum mechanics of large collections of atoms, molecules and electrons that are found in
superconductors, magnets and transistors. He is particularly interested in the engineering
question of whether it is possible to build a quantum computer. He is collaborating with
Devoret and Rob Schoelkopf in the Department of Applied Physics who are constructing
superconducting circuit elements, which might someday form the basis for a quantum
computer. Such a computer could in principle solve problems that are impossible on ordinary
computers. 

"In order to build a quantum computer it is necessary to create circuit devices which behave
quantum mechanically (like individual atoms) despite the fact that they are macroscopic and
consist of a very large number of atoms," explains Girvin. "In addition to potential practical
applications, this difficult challenge will help us better understand the connections between the
microscopic quantum world and the macroscopic classical world of everyday experience." 


Meg Urry 

In addition to being professor of physics, Urry is also director of the new Yale Center for
Astronomy and Astrophysics. Her scientific research focuses on active galaxies -- galaxies with
unusually luminous cores that are likely powered by very massive black holes. Her group has
carried out extensive multiwavelength monitoring (at radio to X- and gamma-ray wavelengths)
and imaging (optical/UV) of blazars and quasars in order to understand their energetics,
structure and evolution. 

"The recruitment of Girvin and Devoret is universally viewed as a coup. It will further
strengthen the already strong ties between physics and applied physics," says Ramamurti
Shankar, chair of physics. "We expect Meg Urry to provide the crucial links with astronomy
since her chosen area of galactic nuclei truly lies at the interface of the two departments. Her
strong presence as a dynamic teacher and researcher should also serve as an invaluable role
model to Yale students considering physics or astronomy as a career." 

Urry has won many awards for her research and she holds both master's and doctoral degrees
from the Johns Hopkins University, the latter for X-ray/ultraviolet studies done at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, she moved to the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which runs the
Hubble Space Telescope for NASA. There she became a tenured member of the senior
scientific staff most recently heading the STScI Science Program Selection Office, which
oversees the solicitation and review of Hubble Space Telescope observing proposals. 

Urry also maintains a long-standing interest in the issue of women and minorities in science. Her
husband, Andrew Szymkowiak, formerly a NASA physicist, has also joined Yale's
Department of Physics.

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