Support for Student Participation in the 2013 International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (ICOLS); Berkeley, CA; June 9-14, 2013

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

The funding from this grant will be used to support US graduate students attending the 2013 International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (ICOLS), which will be held in Berkeley, CA during the week of June 9-14, 2013. This international meeting is the 21st in a series of biennial conferences at which the world-wide community of atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) physicists gather to present and discuss the cutting edge work from this broad, vibrant research field. The conference is prestigious and well attended by the luminaries of AMO physics (including several Nobel Laureates) and also by the latest rising stars. The meeting centers around plenary invited talks and several poster sessions, and spans the forefront fields of AMO science including ultrafast optics, ultracold atomic gases, precision tests of fundamental physics, molecular spectroscopy, quantum information, many-body quantum physics, cavity optomechanics, and others. The conference is particularly valuable for young scientists -- graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The gathering is typically smaller than the other central meetings of the field, such as the APS DAMOP annual meeting and the International Conference on Atomic Physics. As such, rising scientists have greater access to the most influential scientists in the field, giving them a chance to learn, to discuss physics at a high level, and to establish relationships to further their scientific careers. This year's ICOLS also gives students and postdocs access to the premier scientific institutions in the Bay Area, particularly the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, both of whom are sponsoring receptions and open houses in coordination with the meeting. NSF support of this meeting is thus a strong contribution to graduate student and postdoctoral training, and also a strong contribution to the advancement of AMO physics in the United States and worldwide.