JILA is one of the nation’s leading research institutes in the physical sciences. The world's first
Bose–Einstein condensate was created at JILA by
Eric Cornell and
Carl Wieman in 1995. The first
frequency comb demonstration was led by
John L. Hall at JILA. The first demonstrations of a
Fermionic condensate and BEC-BCS crossover physics were done by
Deborah S. Jin. JILA’s faculty members hold appointments in a wide range of disciplines, including the Departments of
Physics,
Astrophysical and Planetary Science,
Chemistry and Biochemistry, and
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, as well as
Engineering. Many faculty also hold joint appointments with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). JILA’s Quantum Physics Division of NIST members hold joint faculty appointments at
CU in the same departments. Research at JILA addresses fundamental scientific questions about the limits of quantum measurements and technologies, the design of precision optical and X-ray lasers, the fundamental principles underlying the interaction of light and matter, the role of quantum physics in chemistry and biology, and the processes that have governed the evolution of the Universe for nearly 14 billion years. ==Staff==