Claude Cohen-Tannoudji

Interview

Interview, June 2009

Interview with the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, 12 June 2009. The interviewer is Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org.

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji discusses the special atmosphere of the College de Paris where he has worked for 31 years, his early education in Algiers and his memories of World War II (6:50), the value of learning that his father instilled (15:34), and his current educational scheme to bring research into schools (18:53). He also describes working in the newly formed lab of Alfred Kastler (23:40), the two times when teaching was especially important to his own research (42:39), the race to use light to make colder atoms (51:12), how the atom’s energy level is comparable to the myth of Sisyphus (52:12), and the ways in which being awarded the Prize has changed his life (59:30).

To cite this section
MLA style: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji – Interview. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sat. 23 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1997/cohen-tannoudji/interview/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.