The Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical
Physics was established in November 1988 at the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics in order to address the critical shortage
of theorists in atomic and molecular physics at major universities
throughout the nation. The objectives of the Institute were and
are:
Attracting and training graduate students of the highest
quality in theoretical AMO Physics;
Maintaining an active visitors program to bring senior
researchers together for varying lengths of time for scientific
collaboration;
Establishing a strong post-doctoral fellowship program
as a source of potential University faculty.
We are in a time of great intellectual excitement in atomic
and molecular physics, stimulated in part by the use of lasers,
of synchrotron radiation, of neutral and ion traps, and of particle
beams in experiments of quite remarkable ingenuity, and in part
by a growing recognition that atomic and molecular physics is
a uniquely valuable discipline, rich in the diversity of its phenomena,
in which general concepts about the existence and nature of structures
can be explored quantitatively. In many instances, a direct confrontation
with experiment can be carried out, which is impeded neither by
uncertainties in the fundamental interactions nor by the lack
of numerical precision in the theoretical predictions. Access
to enhanced computer power has greatly enlarged the areas of significant
activity in atomic and molecular physics as numerical experiments
on many-body systems have become practicable, which will lead
surely to the discovery of new kinds of structural features and
to the delineation of the underlying laws that govern them. For
theoretical atomic and molecular physics, a revolution is in progress.
Unfortunately, this is occurring at a time in which almost no
graduate students are being trained in theoretical AMO physics
in any of the departments of physics of those major research universities
that have been historically the principal sources of university
faculty in the U.S.
The original proposal for the creation of the Institute described
the concern of the atomic and molecular community regarding "the
grave shortage of young theorists" in atomic and molecular
physics. This shortage was documented in the report of the NAS
Committee on Atomic and Molecular Science (chaired by Lloyd Armstrong),
"The State of Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences
in the United States" (National Academy Press, 1987). The
original proposal states further: "Some of the effects of
the low level of activity in theoretical atomic and molecular
physics are already apparent in the inadequate interpretations
offered in many experimental papers and their call for theoretical
studies, and in the termination of experimental programs because
of the lack of theoretical calculations that would raise significant
further questions and point to new directions. Without the development,
application and challenge of new theoretical ideas, atomic and
molecular physics will eventually be reduced to a description
of experimental observations of physical events, supported only
because of its intimate connections to technology."
The Academy report by the Armstrong Committee mentioned amongst
the measures that might be taken to strengthen theoretical AMO
physics the formation of an institute and listed several criteria
such an institute should satisfy: increasing the interactions
of AMO theorists and experimenters and fostering interdisciplinary
interactions; bringing together a critical mass of innovative
researchers who can together more effectively tackle large problems;
association with a university in order to bring graduate students
into the field. ITAMP was created with these criteria in mind.
In 2002 the name of the Institute was changed to the Institute
for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. The acronym
ITAMP, however, was retained because of its widespread recognition
