| Theodor W. Hänsch AKA Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch Born: 30-Oct-1941
Birthplace: Heidelberg, Germany
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Physicist Nationality: Germany
Executive summary: Quantum optics Theodor W. Hänsch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2005, for "contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique". His research involves ultra-precise laser spectroscopy and quantum physics of ultra-cold atoms, and his honors were shared with fellow physicists Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall.
Hänsch grew up on a Heidelberg street named for Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, and his interest in science was sparked after he asked his father about the man and the street. His father brought home a Bunsen burner, demonstrated some rudimentary chemistry in their kitchen, and young Hänsch said later, "I started to see myself as a future scientist". As a teenager he constructed a transistorized Geiger counter. During his tenure at Stanford, was involved with the Hombrew Computer Club, bought software on punched paper tape from Bill Gates, and taught Steve Jobs in undergraduate classes on electricity and magnetism. Upon winning the Nobel Prize, Hänsch said, "For me, the field of light, of lasers, of atoms, molecules, has been an unending series of surprises, and I can't think of a better field".
Father: Karl Hänsch (businessman)
Mother: Marta Hänsch
Brother: Julius Hänsch (works in publishing)
Sister: Lucia Hänsch (owns electronics shop)
High School: Helmholtz Gymnasium, Heidelberg, Germany (1961)
University: BS Physics, University of Heidelberg (1964)
University: MS Physics, University of Heidelberg (1966)
University: PhD Physics, University of Heidelberg (1969)
Scholar: Physics, University of Heidelberg (1969-70)
Scholar: Physics, Stanford University (1970-72)
Teacher: Physics, Stanford University (1972-75)
Professor: Physics, Stanford University (1975-86)
Professor: Experimental Physics, University of Munich (1986-)
Administrator: Director, Max-Planck-Institut for Quantum Optics (1986-)
Albert Einstein Medal 1995
Matteucci Medal 2002
Nobel Prize for Physics 2005 (with Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Physical Society
Franklin Institute
Optical Society of America
Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
Bavarian Ancestry
Polish Ancestry
Official Website:
http://www.mpq.mpg.de/~haensch/
Author of books:
Ultrasensitive Response of a CW Dye Laser to Selective Extinction (1972, with Arthur L. Schawlow and Peter E. Toschek)
Ultranarrowband Tunable Dye Laser for New Approaches to Atomic Spectroscopy (1975)
Tunable Lasers and Coherent Light Techniques for High Resolution Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (1977)
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