Dr. Phillips is relatively young for a Nobelist. He is animated,
passionate and warm.
He has two college-age daughters and is clearly more proud of them than the
Nobel. But
he is deeply knowledgeable of his subject matter, techniques to cool atoms
to a few
microdegrees above absolute zero using laser light. He showed several
demonstrations
in the classic tradition of great physics teaching: he dipped a rose in
liquid nitrogen to
show how it shatters like glass at 77 K, he showed a ball bouncing in a
bowl to illustrate
the nature of a laser trap, and he showed a magnetic top spinning in midair
to demonstrate
how magnetic fields can control spinning particles. During breaks to
reload the
video camera, he described humouous incidents at the Nobel ceremonies in
Stockholm,
where he had the opportunity to dine next to the Queen and Princess Victoria.
Dr. Phillips attended Juniata College in Pennsylvania, before doing
his doctoral work
at MIT. He said that it was at Juniata that he learned to respect both
science and faith.
Many of his Juniata faculty were there. Phillips used the word "family"
frequently: in
relation to his teachers, his colleagues working at NIST, his colleagues
around the world,
his church family, and the crowded auditorium.
I hope that at some point I can get a copy of the video tape. I
wouldn't be surprised
if they broadcast it on PBS Nova some time, because it conveys to a broad
audience the enthusiasm and fun of real science as we know it. In fact, I
wouldn't be surprised if
Phillips doesn't become the new replacement for Carl Sagan as a spokesman
for science
education in this country -- except that Phillips has a rather different
belief system!
At the end of the lecture I handed Dr. Phillips a brief letter and
brochure for ASA.
I hope that he will join us, but even if he doesn't, I am encouraged to see
that a person
of his brilliance, wit and enthusiasm will be around to teach us all.