caption birth_place awards nationality fields workplaces doctoral_students birth_date known_for residence image article_title name alma_mater
lene hau in her laboratory at harvard vejle , denmark ole and carl holst-knudsen award for scientific research rømer medal george ledlie prize macarthur fellowship rigmor danish physics and nanotechnology harvard university rowland institute for science naomi anne goodsell , trygve ristrophe ginsberg , christopher slowe , zachary dutton , 13 november 1959 slow , quantum optics light , bose -- einstein condensates , nanotechnology boston u.s. professor lene hau in her laboratory at harvard.jpg lene hau
 lene hau aarhus university
lene hau

lene vestergaard hau -lrb- born in vejle , denmark , on november 13 , 1959 -rrb- is a danish physicist .
in 1999 , she led a harvard university team who , by use of a bose-einstein condensate , succeeded in slowing a beam of light to about 17 metres per second , and , in 2001 , was able to stop a beam completely .
later work based on these experiments led to the transfer of light to matter , then from matter back into light , a process with important implications for quantum encryption and quantum computing .
more recent work has involved research into novel interactions between ultracold atom and nanoscopic scale systems .
in addition to teaching physics and applied physics , she has taught energy science at harvard , involving photovoltaic cells , nuclear power , batteries , and photosynthesis .
as well as her own experiments and research , she is often asked to speak at international conferences , and is involved in structuring the science policies of various institutions .
she was keynote speaker at eliteforsk-konferencen 2013 , -lrb- elite research conference -rrb- in copenhagen , february 7 , 2013 , which is attended by government ministers , as well as senior science policy and research developers in denmark .
