Jun Ye, fellow of NIST and JILA and Monroe Endowed Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, has won the 2026 Wolf Prize in Physics along with Immanuel Bloch (Max Planck Institute), the Wolf Foundation announced on October 1. 

Ye and Bloch were selected for “transformative, widely applicable advances in the control of ultracold atomic systems,” the award citation reads. 

Ye has led the development of the world’s most accurate and stable atomic clocks, timekeepers so precise they neither gain nor lose a second over billions of years. His work has revolutionized precision timekeeping, redefining international standards for time and frequency measurement. 

“Working with lasers and atoms to create precisely controlled quantum systems opens opportunities for many scientific and technological applications,” said Ye. “Building the next generation of atomic clocks is a compelling example of this scientific confluence.” 

The Wolf Prize is awarded annually and acknowledges scientists and artists worldwide for their outstanding achievements in advancing science and the arts for the betterment of humanity, according to the foundation’s website. Awards in the sciences are presented in medicine, agriculture, mathematics, chemistry and physics. 

Now in its 47^th year, the Wolf Prize has been awarded to 391 scientists and artists to date, with a monetary award of $100,000. 

“I am greatly honored and humbled by the recognition from the Wolf Prize,” said Ye. “Pursuing scientific research at the cutting edge requires great teamwork over many years.” 

Ye highlighted the strong collaborative environment among JILA, the Department of Physics, CU Boulder and NIST. “I am very fortunate to have worked with so many brilliant scientists, from my mentors and close colleagues to the world’s best students and postdocs in the lab,” he said. “Receiving this award really means sharing this recognition with all of our lab members and the supporting staff in our institution.” 

“At JILA we are thrilled that Jun has been awarded the prize. This award is a milestone in a remarkable career that continues to inspire the next generation of scientists,” said Andreas Becker, distinguished professor of physics and chair of JILA. “With his visionary work he continuously pushes the boundaries of quantum science.” 

Clocks provide practical and useful services such as navigation and communication. But as they become more precise, they can also be used to test the fundamental laws of nature and explore new frontiers of knowledge. “More than just telling the time, clocks become the next generation of telescopes and microscopes, allowing us to peek farther and deeper into the unknown,” said Ye. 

Recently, Ye’s group collaborated with scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and several other institutions on a proposal to install highly stable, ultra-precise lasers on the moon. The system could provide a navigational signal for future lunar missions and may even 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.” 

Ye completed his PhD in physics at CU Boulder in 1997 as the last graduate student of John Hall, who later won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. 

“Jun’s journey from being a grad student in our department to receiving one of the highest honors in physics is especially meaningful to us,” said Tobin Munsat, professor and chair of physics. 

Following a Millikan Postdoctoral Fellowship under the mentorship of Jeff Kimble at the California Institute of Technology, Ye returned to Boulder in 1999 to establish his research program working with NIST, JILA and the Department of Physics. 

Ye is a member of national societies including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of Optica and the American Physical Society. In 2024, Ye was appointed the inaugural recipient of the Monroe Endowed Professorship by the Department of Physics. 

Among Ye’s honors are the Berthold Leibinger Future Prize, the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the Niels Bohr Institute Medal of Honor, five Gold Medals from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Micius Quantum Prize, the N.F. Ramsey Prize, the I.I. Rabi Prize and Award, and the Distinguished U.S. Presidential Rank Award. 

Ye is the fourth physicist affiliated with CU Boulder to receive the Wolf Prize. Previous recipients include alumnus Theodore Maiman (EngrPhys’49), awarded in 1984; Peter Zoller, adjoint fellow of JILA and previously a professor of physics, who received the prize in 2013; and Richard Zare, adjoint fellow of JILA and previously a professor of physics and chemistry, who was awarded the chemistry prize in 2005.