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 2023. Sat. 9 Dec 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1997/phillips/interview/>

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

Streams during Nobel Week

Watch the 2023 Nobel Prize lectures, the Nobel Prize Concert, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.
Watch lectures and award ceremonies

Explore prizes and laureates

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