Mehdi Langlois
Cold Atom Lab – Ground Testbed Lead
Dr. Mehdi Langlois is the Ground Testbed Lead for the Cold Atom Lab at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he leads the integration, assembly, and characterization of new science modules and experimental capabilities for CAL.
His work focuses on advancing quantum technologies for precision measurements, including quantum accelerometers, atomic clocks, and gravity gradiometers. He has led the development of several key instruments, including a compact three-axis atomic drag-free accelerometer (ADA), and contributed to the miniature Space Optical Clock (mSOC) and a high-flux Bose–Einstein condensate source (D3E3). He is also involved in the development of the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer pathfinder testbed (QGGpf), supporting next-generation space-based gravity measurements.
Prior to joining JPL, Dr. Langlois was a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK, where he led the development of compact cold atom gravity gradiometers and led the development of a large-scale strontium interferometer within an international consortium targeting searches for ultra-light dark matter and gravitational waves. He earned his PhD from Pierre and Marie Curie University, based on his work at the Paris Observatory, where he designed and developed a cold atom gravity gradiometer and developed techniques to mitigate laser wavefront aberrations using MEMS deformable mirrors. Earlier in his career, he worked as a Research Engineer at the Paris Observatory, assembling and testing a compact atomic clock, including operation during microgravity flight campaigns.
Awards
- JPL Team Award: Development and delivery of flight hardware restoring CAL quantum science capabilities
- JPL Team Award: Early demonstration of dual-species Bose–Einstein condensates in the CAL ground testbed
- JPL Team Award: Verification of optical transport capabilities for the QGG physics protocol
- NASA BPS Center Spotlight Award: Leadership in the rapid relocation and reintegration of the CAL testbed
- JPL Voyager Award: Validation of hardware performance post-relocation through rubidium BEC achievement