Sae Woo Nam
Credit: ©Geoffrey Wheeler
Physicist Sae Woo Nam, who pioneered techniques for detecting individual photons — the tiniest quantities of light — passed away on Jan. 21, 2024, after a 14-month battle with brain cancer. He was 53 years old.
During his 25-year career at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Sae Woo performed groundbreaking work on single-photon detectors, which are now used for everything from building photon-based quantum computers and testing the deepest foundations of quantum physics to searching for the invisible “dark matter” in the universe.
Detecting, manipulating and measuring photons is extremely challenging. Photon detectors made with semiconductors fall far short of sensing all the photons that strike them. Using superconducting detectors operating at ultracold temperatures, Sae Woo and his NIST colleagues developed the world’s most efficient single-photon detector in 2010, detecting 99% of all photons that struck it. These single-photon detectors are now used all over the world for an array of science and technology applications.
“Sae Woo’s work has had a profound impact on his field that will forever be part of his legacy,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio. “He has also had a profound impact on NIST, and with his passing, we have lost a brilliant scientist, a thoughtful mentor and a great friend.”
Sae Woo spent his formative years growing up in Dayton, Ohio, with his mother, father and sister. His father and uncles provided early encouragement and opportunities in physics research.
Sae Woo earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991. He ..
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