 | Michel Devoret |
Michel Devoret, newly named as the Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics, spearheads a Yale project exploring the science and technology necessary to build a quantum computer.
Because their components behave according to the laws of quantum mechanics, rather than classical physics, quantum computers are expected to offer far superior memory and security than the computers commonly used today. The Yale scientists working on this project include Steven M. Girvin and A. Douglas Stone.
Devoret's research focuses on experimental solid state physics with emphasis on "quantronics," i.e., electronic effects in which collective degrees of freedom like currents and voltages behave quantum mechanically. These effects are particularly important in the realization of quantum coherent Cooper pair devices for quantum computation. He is also investigating whether superconductivity exists at the molecular level.
Before joining Yale's Department of Applied Physics in 2002 (with a joint appointment in physics), Devoret was director of research of the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) at Saclay.
A native of France, Devoret graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications in Paris in 1975 and did graduate work in molecular quantum physics at the University of Orsay. He then joined Professor Anatole Abragam's laboratory in CEA-Saclay to work on nuclear magnetic resonance in solid hydrogen and received his Ph.D. from Paris University in 1982. He spent two postdoctoral years working on macroscopic quantum tunneling with John Clarke at the University of California, Berkeley.
Upon his return to Saclay, Devoret pursued this research on quantum mechanical electronics and started his own research group with Daniel Esteve and Cristian Urbina. Their achievements include the measurement of the traversal time of tunneling, the invention of the single electron pump (now the basis of a new standard of capacitance), the first direct observation of the charge of Cooper pairs, the first measurement of the effect of atomic valence on the conductance of a single atom, and very recently, the development of a high-coherence superconducting quantum bit.
Devoret received the Ampère Prize of the French Academy of Science (together with Daniel Esteve), the Descartes-Huygens Prize of the Royal Academy of Science of the Netherlands and the Europhysics-Agilent Prize of the European Physical Society (together with Daniel Esteve, Hans Moij and Yasunobu Nakamura).
T H I S
Michel Devoret: Beinecke chair
in applied physics
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Center renamed in honor of its founder
Study: Benefits of red wine due to more than just alcohol
STDs high even in teens who take virginity pledges
Health care providers can learn valuable lessons from TB . . .
Three physicists named to endowed postsMichel Devoret: Beinecke chair in applied physics
Steven Girvin: Higgins professorship in physics
A. Douglas Stone: Morse chair in applied physics
Economist appointed to Beinecke chair
SOM hosts government leaders from Kazakhstan
Yale-developed brace heading for market
New York Times columnist to give next Poynter Fellowship Lecture
International group of scholars to probe 'Why Literature Matters'
Conference will explore the global flow of information
Discussion will examine legal rights of victims of genocide, torture
Divinity School event to tackle the 'Sunday-Monday disconnect'
Software being developed by the Peabody's BioGeomancer project . . .
Study: High-risk treatments best for some breast cancer patients
Richard Siken is selected as new Yale Younger Poet
With short training program, ER workers can intervene with . . .
Yale Books in Brief
Jeffrey Kenney appointed chair of astronomy department
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home