Beth Nordholt
Beth Nordholt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jane Elizabeth Nordholt |
| Known for | Quantum communication, space plasma physics |
| Spouse | Richard Hughes |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Jane Elizabeth (Beth) Nordholt is an American physicist known for her work in space science on mass spectrometry of the solar wind and rings of Saturn[1][2][3] and the flow of water vapor in the Earth's polar wind,[4] and for her work in digital security on devices for quantum key distribution[5][6][7][8] and random number generation.[9][10][11] Until her retirement, she worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which in 2006 named her as a Laboratory Fellow.[1][12]
Early life and education
[edit]Nordholt is the daughter of John B. (Jack) Nordholt Jr., a former Marine and owner of Webster Manufacturing, and of Joanne Pedigo Nordholt.[13] She is a 1976 graduate of Columbian High School in Tiffin, Ohio.[14] She earned a bachelor's degree in 1980 from Rutgers University, and a master's degree in physics in 1983 from the California Institute of Technology.[15]
Career and research
[edit]She helped to design the ion mass spectrometer (IMS) for the spacecraft Cassini to gather information on Saturn's environment.[2] She also contributed to instrumentation for NASA Deep Space 1 and Genesis missions.[1][16]
Nordholt has many patents in the area of quantum communication including quantum key distribution, random number generation, and implementations for optical fiber or free space optical communication.[17] She was a co-team leader for the Los Alamos National Laboratory quantum communications project.[6]
Awards and honours
[edit]In 2001, she received an R&D 100 Award as part of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Free-Space Quantum Cryptography project.[18][19]
She became a laboratory fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2006.[1]
Personal life
[edit]As of 2013, she was married to Richard Hughes, a physicist and collaborator at Los Alamos National Laboratory.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Laboratory Fellows from 1981 to the present, Los Alamos National Laboratory, November 2016, retrieved 2020-01-05
- ^ a b "Los Alamos Instrument Yields New Knowledge Of Saturn's Rings", ScienceDaily, October 15, 2004
- ^ "Solar wind samples give insight into birth of solar system", ScienceDaily, June 23, 2011
- ^ Friebele, Elaine (1997), "Dehydration", Eos: Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 78 (31): 318, Bibcode:1997EOSTr..78S.318F, doi:10.1029/eo078i031p00318-03
- ^ Giordani, Adrian (February 15, 2012), "Unbreakable smartphones", ScienceNode
- ^ a b c Snodgrass, Roger (May 17, 2013), "Los Alamos team ready for next step on quantum communications project", Santa Fe New Mexican
- ^ Scientists demonstrate ultra-secure, long-distance quantum key distribution, phys.org, December 22, 2006
- ^ "The solace of quantum: Eavesdropping on secret communications is about to get harder", The Economist, May 25, 2013
- ^ Folger, Tim (August 16, 2018), "How Physicists Are Making Sure We Never Run Out of Random Numbers", Discover
- ^ Five Los Alamos innovations win R&D 100 Awards, Los Alamos National Laboratory, November 2016, retrieved 2021-03-14
- ^ Snodgrass, Roger (December 1, 2016), "LANL's Entropy Engine Appears Perfectly Unpredictable", Los Alamos Daily Post
- ^ A short history of women at Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, March 2018, retrieved 2021-03-14
- ^ "Joanne Pedigo Nordholt 1918 – 2017", Daily Press, April 8, 2017 – via Legacy.com
- ^ Columbian Yearbook Blue and Gold, 1976, p. 31
- ^ Eighty-Ninth Annual Commencement (PDF), California Institute of Technology, June 10, 1983, p. 16, retrieved 2020-01-06
- ^ "Los Alamos instruments capturing the sun". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ "Jane Elizabeth Nordholt Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ "R&D 100 Award Winners Archive". Research & Development World. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ Nordholt, Jane (2002). "A New Face for Cryptography" (PDF). Los Alamos Science. 27.