Professor Dan Walls, a leading New Zealand physicist, has died of cancer. He was 57. Professor Walls, head of theoretical physics at Auckland University, specialised in the field of quantum optics, where he played a key role over the past 25 years.
His research centred on theinteraction and similarities between light and atoms and he was fascinated with the ways that the particle-like nature of light (photos) could be controlled to make optical systems less susceptible to unwanted fluctuations. This should lead to the improvement of telecommunications and computing systems.
He contributed greatly to our theoretical understanding of a new state of matter - the Bose-Einstein condensation, in which atoms collectively act like photons in a laser beam. The possibility of this state of matter was predicted more than 70 years ago by eminent physicists Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein.
Professor Walls worked closely with several groups around the world who were pioneering the super-cooling of atoms to within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero as a necessary preliminary to producing the "condensation."
Many scientists came to visit Auckland University as a result of Professor Wall's work, including the 1997 Nobel Prize winner, Claude Cohen-Tannondji, whose group in Paris was in the forefront.
Professor Walls' contribution led to his being made a Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and New Zealand and receiving many medals and prizes.
He received the prestigious Einstein Medal for Laser Science in 1990 from the United States, and this was eclipsed in 1995 by the award of the Paul Dirac Medal for Theoretical Physics awarded by the Institute of Physics, in Britain. Other recipients of his have included Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose and several others who have gone on to win Nobel Prizes.
Professor Geoff Austin, head of Auckland University's physics department, said: "Dan Walls stands unrivalled as the most distinguished New Zealand-born physicist since Lord Rutherford of Nelson, New Zealand's only Nobel Laureate.
"The scientific standing of this country was greatly enhanced by the number of distinguished overseas visitors who came to confer with Dan."
Professor Walls was a keen sportsman. He is survived by his partner Pam and son Mark.
