Science Research Groups

Precision measurement plays a key role in most of JILA's scientific investigations. New techniques and technologies are allowing researchers to probe tiny structures inside living cells; to study the properties of ultracold matter; to monitor the dynamics of chemical reactions; to more directly measure the frequency of visible light and other short wavelength electromagnetic radiation; to study the behavior of electrons in semiconductors; and to investigate other phenomena heretofore too small or too fast to "see," much less precisely quantify. Precision measurement research at JILA falls into four broad areas: precision optical metrology, measurements of fundamental parameters, atomic clocks, and ultrasensitive devices.

JILA optical physicists manipulate light to produce ultrashort laser pulses. They then study these pulses to gain insight into the fundamental properties of light. Thus the investigation of light itself is intertwined with the development of advanced ultrafast light sources and optical pulse shapers, the precise control of ultrafast pulses and their interactions with passive optical cavities, and the control of the carrier-envelope phase of ultrashort pulses. As a result of JILA's optical physics research, ultrafast lasers are becoming increasingly capable of delivering designer light pulses whose applications include the control of dynamical processes in chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine, telecommunications, and nanotechnology. JILA research also finds important applications in precision metrology, including the development of optical frequency standards and optical atomic clocks. JILA optical physics research also focuses on quantum optics theory and blind signal separation.

At JILA, biophysics research groups are applying tools and concepts from physics to the understanding of living systems at the molecular level. This vibrant research field promises to yield answers to important questions about the structure, dynamics, function, and interaction of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. This research is made possible by new instruments that allow researchers to measure distances much shorter than the wavelength of light (nanometers) and forces as small as one trillionth of the force required to hold an apple against Earth's gravity (piconewtons). JILA biophysics researchers are currently studying "protein motors," protein motions, and the folding dynamics of RNA and DNA.

JILA is making major contributions to two vibrant research areas in the field of atomic and molecular physics: ultracold matter and the control of atoms and molecules with ultrafast light. Ultracold atoms and molecules comprise novel forms of matter that form at temperatures below a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero (-459.67 F). Many of JILA's atomic physicists are studying the creation of these novel substances and investigating their properties, behavior, and interactions. In the process, they're learning first hand about the strange, hidden world of the nanocosmos where the laws of quantum mechanics predominate.

Welcome to the home page of Professor Jeff Kimble's quantum optics group at Caltech. The primary goal of our research is to study the quantum mechanics of open systems. "Real-world" quantum mechanics takes into account the dissipation and decoherence that arise from interactions of a quantum system with its environment. In studying the role of these processes, we learn about what is and might be possible: how we might make, study, and preserve quantum superpositions and other exotic states.

The California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), a cooperative effort among three campuses of the University of California and private industry, harnesses the quantitative sciences to integrate our understanding of biological systems at all levels of complexity - from atoms and protein molecules to cells, tissues, organs and the entire organism. This long-sought integration allows scientists to attack problems that have been simply unapproachable before, setting the stage for fundamental new discoveries, new products and new technologies for the benefit of human health. The Institute builds on strengths in the engineering and physical sciences at UC Berkeley, engineering and mathematical sciences at UC Santa Cruz, and the medical sciences at UC San Francisco, as well as strong biology programs at the three campuses.

A consortium of scientists from the national laboratories and many universities designed and built Gammasphere. It consists of 110 large volume, high purity germanium detectors, each in a BGO compton suppression shield. The project was coordinated by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the device first assembled there. The device is especially powerful for collecting gamma ray data following the fusion of heavy-ions, when multiplicities are high and Doppler shifts large. It has high granularity, which allows many gamma rays to be measured simultaneously, and permits precise correction for Doppler shifts. It has a photopeak efficiency for 1.3 MeV gamma-rays of 10%. As such, Gammasphere is the worlds most powerful spectrometer for nuclear structure research, rivalled only by Euroball.

Under the leadership of Dr. Robert R. Recker and Dr. Robert P. Heaney, the Creighton University Osteoporosis Research Center (ORC) continues today a 40-year effort that has created an international center of excellence in bone research.

The Xenobe Research Institute (XRI) is a collaborative venture established in San Diego and National City, California. We are organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute. XRI was founded to provide a deeper understanding of the interactions between the molecule, cell, tissue, organism and ecosystem. The study of life and its ailments are guided by this interactivity and its union with time, material and information. The development of this knowledge is fundamental to our understanding of life.

Chemistry has been offered by the University of California since its founding in 1868, and the College of Chemistry was created as a unit within the University in 1872.

Our mission is to be the global leader in chemical engineering education and research. We train students to be the best in shaping and solving complex problems, particularly the translation of molecular information and discovery into products and processes. Our programs are enriched by an emphasis on leadership; fundamental understanding of physical, chemical, and biological processes; engineering design and synthesis skills; and interdisciplinary perspectives on technological, economic, and social issues.

The MIT Center for Cancer Research (CCR) was founded in 1974, and is one of eight National Cancer Institute-designated basic research centers. Our mission is to apply the tools of basic science and technology to determine how cancer is caused, progresses and responds to treatment. Through this effort we have developed an increasingly complete understanding of the nature of cancer cells, which as led directly to improved treatments for the disease. Molecules identified by CCR research teams were used as targets for two of the first few FDA-approved cancer-fighting drugs produced by molecular medicine (approved by the FDA in 1998 and 2001). Today, the Center for Cancer Research continues to generate critical new insights into the basic mechanisms of cancer that are essential for advancing diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We remain committed to our founding vision that we can conquer cancer through research and technology.

For more than 35 years, HST has been a pioneer in interdisciplinary educational and research programs designed to educate outstanding minds, cultivate leaders, create knowledge, and generate cost-effective preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic innovations. Today, HST draws upon the extraordinary resources of Harvard, MIT, and their research centers and Harvard Medical School's teaching hospitals to provide students and faculty with a unique range of educational and research opportunities. The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology (HST) is dedicated to integrating medicine, science, and engineering into an educational program that carries these disciplines from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside, and, conversely, brings clinical insights from the patient's bedside to the laboratory bench. HST effectively integrates patient care and laboratory research through three primary focus areas: Biomedical Imaging; Biomedical Informatics and Integrative Biology; and Regenerative and Functional Biomedical Technologies.

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit, independent research and educational institution with pioneering programs in stem cells, cancer research, immunology, neurological disorders, developmental biology, genetics and genomics. It was founded though the generosity of Edwin C. Jack Whitehead, a businessman and philanthropist whose dream was to create a new type of research enterpriseone that could exist independently, yet fully benefit from partnering with a world-class academic institution. This dream was realized in 1982 when Whitehead Institute was established, an arrangement that included a faculty and teaching affiliation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Department of Chemistry at MIT is recognized as one of the top chemistry departments in the world. The Department has an illustrious history in sharing the MIT tradition of excellence, and has provided national leadership in chemical education and research. The Department's strong record of achievement is based on its pioneering advances in chemical research, its success in incorporating these advances into teaching and research programs, and its close relationship to government and industry. Many fundamental discoveries made in our Department have found their way into practical applications ranging from polymer synthesis to medical imaging. The Department's program of teaching and research spans the breadth of chemistry. General areas covered include biological chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. Specialized areas such as environmental chemistry, materials chemistry and nanoscience are also covered.

Chemistry and biology are typically viewed as discrete academic disciplines, yet the two are highly integrated. Today, scientists increasingly use chemical tools to study dynamic biological processes at the gene, cellular, and organismal level. The Broad Institute's Chemical Biology program applies this approach to biomedical research and the pursuit of new methods to ameliorate disease. Its activities aim to diminish existing and future gaps between biology and medicine.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin offers unsurpassed opportunities for world-class research across a broad range of chemical and biochemical fields. With nearly fifty faculty, we have a reputation for excellence in teaching in addition to research. Recent rankings position us as one of the top chemistry departments in the country for both our graduate programs and our funding for research and development.

The UCI Department of Chemistry has an established reputation for excellence in education and research, in all areas of chemistry. We are the second largest producer of chemistry majors in the U.S. and are currently ranked 18th by US News & World Report. In the graduate school, beyond the traditional fields of Analytical, Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry, we have set the trend in interdisciplinary graduate training, with programs in Chemical & Materials Physics, Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry , and Chemical Biology, the field in which the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ernie Rose, a UCI researcher in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. The 1995 Nobel Prize in Atmospheric Chemistry was awarded to our founding Chair, Prof. F. S. Rowland. We are similarly proud that Prof. Barbara Finlayson-Pitts was elected into the National Academy in 2006, joining several other faculty who hold this prestigious honor. Indeed, our awards attest to the leadership in research, and dedication to teaching, of our faculty. Explore our department: I know that you will be inspired by what you find.

The institute's mandate is to advance the study of the North American and circumpolar Arctic through the natural and social sciences, the arts and humanities and to acquire, preserve and disseminate information on physical, environmental and social conditions in the North.

The Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems (ETE) Program was formed by a group of professional researchers in paleontology who study the evolutionary paleoecology of land ecosystems. We share a conviction that long-term patterns of evolutionary change cannot be fully understood without knowledge of changes in ecology (at many scales) over geologic time periods, and an understanding of the interaction between ecological and evolutionary processes. Thus, we are interested not only in how the environment has changed, but how ecosystems themselves have changed, and how evolution has occurred in its ecological context over the last 400 million years. The ETE database captures and organizes fossil evidence concerning land biotas in support of ETEs research objectives. The ETE Program is is affiliated with the Departments of Paleobiology and Anthropology (Human Origins Program) at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.