Dr. Lene Vestergaard Hau is an internationally renowned Danish physicist and Harvard professor who achieved global scientific acclaim in 1999 by slowing a beam of light to 17 meters per second—and later stopping light completely—using a Bose–Einstein condensate.
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Danish Physicist & Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University
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Honor the extraordinary legacy of Lene Hau on November 13 with these curated quotes, philosophical reflections, and heartfelt tributes celebrating their monumental impact on Danish Physicist & Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University.
“Light usually travels at nearly 300,000 kilometers a second. To watch it crawl through our cloud at bicycle speed was utterly breathtaking.”
“When you enter the laboratory, nature is in charge. Your job is to create the quietest conditions possible and let quantum mechanics speak.”
“Physics is about asking daring questions that seem impossible, and then designing the precision instruments to answer them.”
“Stopping light was not just an experimental triumph; it opened a new door into understanding how light and matter can become one.”
“There is a profound, almost musical beauty in how atoms behave when cooled to within a billionth of a degree above absolute zero.”
“Curiosity is the engine of all real scientific progress. Never lose that childhood sense of wonder about how the universe works.”
“Experiments fail ninety-nine times before they succeed. Perseverance is the real difference between a dream and a discovery.”
“Science needs diverse perspectives. We need young women to know that physics is not a closed fortress, but an open horizon.”
“Do not be afraid to tackle problems that everyone else thinks are too difficult. That is where the magic lives.”
“The universe is far stranger and more beautiful than our everyday intuition can imagine.”
Danish Physicist & Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University
