Episode 01 - Dr. Narducci - Quantum Physics and the Navy

NPS Student Joe Novak sits down and has a coffee with second-generation physicist Dr. Frank Narducci, and they discuss his mission of incorporating quantum physics into Navy practices. In this episode, Dr. Narducci talks about his early days of physics and his relationship with his physicist father.

This episode was recorded on May 8, 2020.

Segment 1 of 3 – Life as a Second-Generation Physicist - [1:00]

Segment 2 of 3 – Quantum Physics and the Navy - [20:12]

Segment 3 of 3 – Mission as a Mentor - [36:24]

Dr. Narducci began his career by earning his Ph.D. in 1996 from the University of Rochester’s Dept of Physics, under the guidance of the late Prof. Leonard Mandel, studying photon correlations in single and multi-atom systems. Upon completion of his degree, he joined the Naval Air Systems Command as a staff physicist. Over the next 20 years, he rose through the ranks to eventually become the Senior Science and Technology Manager (SSTM) for Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT). He won the Dolores Etter Award for Top Navy Scientist in 2013 and was also elected a NavAir Fellow in 2014. He joined the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School as an Associate Professor of Physics in 2017. He currently maintains a group that experimentally studies and develops quantum sensors. In addition to his duties at NPS, he consults for the American Physical Society as an editor for the journals Physical Review Letters, Physical Review A and Physical Review Research (3 of the leading journals in the fields of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics.)

Current Research:

Dual Atom Interferometer Accelerometer/Gyroscope

A T3 atom interferometer

Quantum States of light

Quantum key distribution

Dr. Narducci’s Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0zd4rs0AAAAJ

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-narducci-09525745/

Faculty Webpage: https://nps.edu/web/physics/nps-physics-research-narducci

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The views expressed in this interview are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the US Navy, or the Naval Postgraduate School.