The University of Oregon announced Tuesday morning that David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Prize winner, will join the university in this fall.
Wineland comes from the University of Colorado Boulder where he is an adjoint professor of physics. He will join UO’s physics department as a Knight Research Professor.
In addition to teaching, Wineland has written extensively for the National Institute of Standards and Technology out of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
His work has included laying the groundwork for quantum computers, creating some of the most accurate clocks in the world and improving GPS systems.
“He’s going to really help us move our scientific program ahead by quantum leaps,” UO President Michael Schill said in a video released with the hiring announcement.
Hiring Wineland comes in preparation for breaking ground on the Knight Campus, a venture that UO hopes will vault it to national and worldwide research prominence.
“David Wineland embodies the essence of the Knight Campus,” Jayanth Banavar, UO provost said. “What he does is precisely the kinds of thing we want to do with the Knight Campus, which is to work on grand challenge problems and really make an impact on society.”
“There are very few people in the world of his caliber in terms of intellectual achievement,” Banavar said about Wineland. “He will help us do great things here at Oregon by recruiting others … it’s huge for our university and we are very fortunate that we were able to convice [Wineland] to join us.”