Dr. Rolston, who joined UMD in 2003, has been the Chair of the Department of Physics since 2016, and was co-director and a fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a research partnership between UMD, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences. As JQI co-director from 2008 to 2017, Rolston oversaw the institute’s growth into a leader in the fields of quantum physics and information, and the addition of 10 new faculty members. JQI is internationally renowned in the areas of quantum information, atomic physics and condensed matter physics.

In his personal research, Dr. Rolston uses ultracold atoms created through laser cooling to study a variety of quantum phenomena. This includes developing quantum simulators of solid-state systems, developing tools for quantum computing with neutral atoms , and generating the building blocks for networks of quantum devices.

Dr. Rolston earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University. After completing postdoctoral fellowships in atomic physics at the University of Washington and Harvard University, he spent 15 years as a staff scientist in the lab of Nobel Laureate Bill Phillips at NIST. He is a fellow the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and The Optical Society. In addition, Rolston received the university’s Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award in 2014 in recognition of his outstanding achievement in engaging undergraduates in science education.