Carl Wieman, Nobel Laureate-winning professor, will be on leave of absence from CU in order to assume his post as associate director for science at the White House, according to a CU news release.
Wieman, who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001 for creating a new form of matter, was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 16.
He used part of his Nobel Prize award to launch CU’s PhET Interactive Simulations project, which provides online, interactive instruction in science and mathematics, according to the release.
“I am grateful that these exceptional individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people,” said President Obama in the White House news release. “I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”
The Nobel Laureate “is expected to spearhead the administration’s push to improve science education, drawing upon his pioneering work at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to strengthen the undergraduate training of science and math teachers,” according to the online news site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Wieman is a fellow and former chairman of JILA, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In 2004, he was named professor of the year by The Carnegie Foundation among all doctoral and research universities in the United States.
He has also received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics, the King Faisal International Prize for Science, the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science and the Richtmyer Lecture Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers, according to the release.
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Ellie Bean at Beanee@colorado.edu.
