Chu is professor of physics and applied physics at Stanford University.
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Chu was one of the first scientists to figure out how laser beams could be used to exert forces on a small particle, such as a biological cell. His work on optical molasses, which led to a Nobel Prize, allowed researchers to make atoms so cold that a completely new state of matter was observed. This peculiar state of matter, known as the Bose-Einstein condensate, represents one of the most important discoveries in physics in the last 50 years. Chu has also developed methods to simultaneously visualize and manipulate single bio-molecules. The recipient of numerous awards, including a Humboldt Senior Scientist award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Chu was co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997.