Paul G. Kwiat, Bardeen Chair of Physics and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois, is the recipient of the 2009 R.W. Wood Prize of the Optical Society of America. Kwiat was cited for "developing sources of polarization-entangled photons that have enabled significant advances in fundamental physics and quantum information technologies, including quantum cryptography, dense-coding, quantum teleportation, and optical quantum information."
Established by OSA in 1975 to honor R.W. Wood's many contributions to optics, the award recognizes an outstanding discovery, scientific or technical achievement, or invention in the field of optics that opens a new era of research or significantly expands an established one. It is endowed by the Xerox Corporation.
Kwiat is a world leader in quantum optics and quantum information. He uses photons to investigate a range of topics from the foundations of quantum mechanics to quantum cryptography, advanced quantum communication, and optical quantum computing.