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Arthur Ashkin
Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden · CC BY 2.0
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Arthur Ashkin

American physicist (1922-2020)

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Arthur Ashkin (September 2, 1922 – September 21, 2020) was an American scientist and Nobel laureate who worked at Bell Labs. Ashkin has been considered by many as the father of optical tweezers,

Quick facts

Born
wd
Place of birth
Brooklyn wd
Died
wd
Place of death
Rumson wd
Citizenship
United States wd
Occupation
physicist, researcher wd
Education
Cornell University, Columbia University, James Madison High School wd

Awards wd

  • Frederic Ives Medal (1998)
  • Harvey Prize (2004)
  • IEEE Quantum Electronics Award (1987)
  • Charles Hard Townes Award (1988)
  • National Inventors Hall of Fame (2013)
  • Fellow of the American Physical Society
  • Nobel Prize in Physics (2018)
  • Fellow of the Optical Society
  • IEEE Fellow
  • Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science (2003)

About

for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 at age 96, becoming the oldest Nobel laureate until 2019 when John B. Goodenough was awarded at 97. He resided in Rumson, New Jersey.

Ashkin started his work on manipulation of microparticles with laser light in the late 1960s which resulted in the invention of optical tweezers in 1986. He also pioneered the optical trapping process that eventually was used to manipulate atoms, molecules, and biological cells. The key phenomenon is the radiation pressure of light; this pressure can be dissected down into optical gradient and scattering forces.

Questions

When was Arthur Ashkin born?
Arthur Ashkin was born on 2 September 1922 in Brooklyn.
Where did Arthur Ashkin study?
Arthur Ashkin was educated at Cornell University, Columbia University, James Madison High School.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Arthur Ashkin · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikidata item Q708472 · CC0 1.0
  3. Image: Arthur Ashkin EM1B5678 (44417135450).jpg by Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden (CC BY 2.0)

Last updated · facts checked 4 November 2026

Cite this page

"Arthur Ashkin". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/arthur-ashkin. Retrieved 5 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Arthur Ashkin, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Arthur Ashkin EM1B5678 (44417135450).jpg — Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden, CC BY 2.0.

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