Jun Ye, Fellow of NIST and JILA, named 2026 Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics
Jun Ye, a Fellow of NIST and JILA and the Monroe Endowed Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been named a 2026 Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics, one of the world’s most prestigious honors in the field. Ye shares the award with Immanuel Bloch of the Max Planck Institute for their transformative advances in controlling ultracold atomic systems.
Ye has led the development of the world’s most accurate and stable atomic clocks, advancing precision timekeeping while creating new capabilities for quantum science. Increasingly precise clocks have applications far beyond measuring time, including navigation and communications, tests of fundamental physics, and new approaches to sensing and measurement. Ye’s group has also collaborated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other institutions on a proposal for ultra precise lasers on the Moon that could support navigation for future lunar missions and potentially detect ripples in space time.
“Jun’s work exemplifies the kind of fundamental research that expands our understanding of the universe while opening possibilities we couldn't imagine when the work began,” said Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes at CU Boulder. “The extraordinary impact of his research reflects the ambition and excellence that define research at CU Boulder, drawing exceptional researchers and students here to work alongside the very best, push the boundaries of their fields and pursue discoveries with the potential to shape our world.”
For Colorado, the recognition is also a powerful example of the value created when federal research and university expertise operate together. JILA is a joint institute of NIST and CU Boulder, bringing researchers, students and highly specialized scientific capabilities together in an environment that has helped make Colorado an international center for quantum science. For businesses working in quantum technology, aerospace, sensing, communications and other advanced industries, this concentration of expertise represents an increasingly important source of talent, research partnerships and emerging technology.
CO-LABS congratulates Dr. Ye and the entire JILA, NIST and CU Boulder community on this extraordinary recognition. His achievement demonstrates why continued investment in Colorado’s federal laboratories and research partnerships matters not only to scientific discovery, but to the innovation ecosystem and industries that grow around it.
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