David R. Scherer, Ph.D.

David R. Scherer received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering (summa cum laude) from Boston University in 1999, where he worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Quantum Imaging Lab under the direction of Prof. Bahaa Saleh.  Dr. Scherer then received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona in 2002 and 2007, where he worked in the Bose-Einstein Condensation Lab under the direction of Prof. Brian Anderson.  His Ph.D. dissertation , "Vortex Formation by Merging and Interference of Multiple Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensates," demonstrated the formation of quantized vortices in an atomic-gas Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) by the merging and interference of multiple trappsed BECs.  This research was the first demonstration of a novel mechanism for vortex formation in superfluids, and has resulted in publications in Physical Review Letters and Nature.  Dr. Scherer was a recipient of a Graduate Assistantship in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education from 1999 to 2001 and an SPIE Educational Scholarship in Optical Science and Engineering in 2006.  Since 2008, Dr. Scherer has been employed as a principal scientist in the Photonics Enterprise at Physical Sciences Inc. in Andover, MA.  During his time at PSI, Dr. Scherer has been actively involved in research on tunable external-cavity quantum cascade lasers, THz time-domain spectroscopy, alkali-atom magnetometry, and atomic resonance filters.  Dr. Scherer has served as the Principal Investigator on two SBIR Phase I programs on atomic magnetometers and atomic resonance filters.  H is research interests are centered on practial applications of quantum and atomic technology.  Dr. Scherer is a member of OSA and SPIE. 

Refereed Journal Publications
- Spontaneous Vortices in the Formation of Bose-Einstein Condensates, Chad N. Weiler, Tyler W. Neely, David R. Scherer, Ashton S. Bradley, Matthew J. Davis, Brian P. Anderson, Nature, 455, 948-951, 2008 [link]
- Vortex Formation by Merging of Multiple Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensates, David Scherer, Chad Weiler, Tyler Neely, Brian Anderson, Physical Review Letters 98, 110402 (2007) [link]