Rate My Professor Arne Schwettmann

Arne Schwettmann is an Associate Professor in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Oklahoma. His research specialization is Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. He earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Oklahoma in 2012, with a thesis titled “Atom chip setup for cold Rydberg atom experiments” advised by Prof. James P. Shaffer. He previously received an M.S. in Physics from the University of North Texas in 2003 and a B.S. equivalent in Physics with a minor in Computer Science from Universität Hannover, Germany, in 2001.

Schwettmann's career at the University of Oklahoma began as a Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant from 2005 to 2011, followed by an Assistant Professor position from 2014 to 2020, and promotion to Associate Professor in 2020. Between 2012 and 2014, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Joint Quantum Institute, NIST and the University of Maryland, supervised by Dr. Paul D. Lett. His research centers on the coherent quantum dynamics of ultracold atomic gases, including ultracold spin-changing collisions in sodium spinor Bose-Einstein condensates for applications in quantum computing and matter-wave quantum optics devices, as well as long-range interactions in ultracold sodium Rydberg atoms for precision measurements, quantum sensing, and quantum simulation. Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2019–2024) for “Matter-wave quantum optics in spin-space in ultracold sodium gases,” DOD DEPSCoR Award (2020–2023) for “Harnessing entanglement in ultracold atomic gases,” Junior Faculty Fellowship Award from the University of Oklahoma ($7,000, 2016), and Nielsen Prize for Outstanding Dissertation (2012). Key publications encompass “Microwave electrometry with Rydberg atoms in a vapour cell using bright atomic resonances” (Nature Physics, 2012), “Atom based vector microwave electrometry using rubidium Rydberg atoms in a vapor cell” (Physical Review Letters, 2013), “Spinor dynamics in an antiferromagnetic spin-1 thermal Bose gas” (Physical Review Letters, 2013), “Seeded spin-mixing interferometry with long-time evolution in microwave-dressed sodium spinor Bose-Einstein condensates” (2023), and “Tailored generation of quantum states in an entangled spinor interferometer to overcome detection noise” (Physical Review A, 2021). His publications have accumulated over 890 citations as of 2021, advancing quantum technologies.