Beth Nordholt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jane Elizabeth Nordholt |
| Known for | Quantum communication, space plasma physics |
| Spouse | Richard Hughes |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Jane Elizabeth (Beth) Nordholt is an American physicist known for her work in space science on mass spectrometry of the solar wind and rings of Saturn[1][2][3] and the flow of water vapor in the Earth's polar wind,[4] and for her work in digital security on devices for quantum key distribution[5][6][7][8] and random number generation.[9][10][11] Until her retirement, she worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which in 2006 named her as a Laboratory Fellow.[1][12]
Nordholt is the daughter of John B. (Jack) Nordholt Jr., a former Marine and owner of Webster Manufacturing, and of Joanne Pedigo Nordholt.[13] She is a 1976 graduate of Columbian High School in Tiffin, Ohio.[14] She earned a bachelor's degree in 1980 from Rutgers University, and a master's degree in physics in 1983 from the California Institute of Technology.[15]
She helped to design the ion mass spectrometer (IMS) for the spacecraft Cassini to gather information on Saturn's environment.[2] She also contributed to instrumentation for NASA Deep Space 1 and Genesis missions.[1][16]
Nordholt has many patents in the area of quantum communication including quantum key distribution, random number generation, and implementations for optical fiber or free space optical communication.[17] She was a co-team leader for the Los Alamos National Laboratory quantum communications project.[6]
In 2001, she received an R&D 100 Award as part of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Free-Space Quantum Cryptography project.[18][19]
She became a laboratory fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2006.[1]
As of 2013, she was married to Richard Hughes, a physicist and collaborator at Los Alamos National Laboratory.[6]