William D. Phillips

Interview

Interview, July 2008

Interview with the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics, William D. Phillips, at the 58th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, 2 July 2008. The interviewer is Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org.

William Phillips discusses how his home life helped develop his early interest in science, the cultural differences he has observed in the way physicists approach problems (5:03), his incredibly precise thesis and how it helped establish the value of the fine structure constant (8:05), his move from MIT to the National Bureau of Standards (14:09), the work for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize (20:32), the application of laser cooling to atomic clocks (27:55), the inquisitiveness he looks for in a student (33:14), and how his faith is connected to his work (40:27).

To cite this section
MLA style: William D. Phillips – Interview. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sat. 21 Dec 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1997/phillips/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.