On May 4th, 2006, after a construction time of 1.5 years, Prof. Peter Engels, together with Collin Atherton, a junior undergraduate student, has created the first Bose-Einstein condensate in the state of Washington in his lab in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at WSU. The experimental setup involves state-of-the art laser technology, ultra-high vacuum technology, high-resolution optical imaging, a host of custom-made electronics and extensive automation programming.

Figure: Bose-Einstein Condensate (peak in the right image) emerging out of a cloud of classical atoms (left image) when atoms are cooled close to absolute zero.