A team of ONR-supported MIT researchers led by Wolfgang Ketterle reported in the Dec. 9 issue of Nature that they have created a device that increases the intensity of a beam of atoms. Furthermore, the atoms that come out of the device are in precisely the same quantum mechanical wave formation as the ones that went in. This "matter wave amplifier" is an analog of the LASER. Having coherent matter waves is itself quite striking and very non-classical. Ketterle demonstrated that in 1997, with ONR support. However, matter-wave amplification seemed to many to be impossible because matter, unlike light, must be conserved. This amplification completes the laser analogy. The MIT device may lead to major improvements in precise sensors for gravity and rotation sensing used in navigation and geological exploration, and for atomic clocks like those used in GPS for navigation and many commercial purposes. "The steady stream of amazing work coming out of the ONR program over the last few years has completely re-invigorated atomic physics, as well as provided the Navy and DoD with a powerful new set of tools to develop next-generation clocks and sensors," says ONR Program Officer Peter Reynolds. "The work is nothing short of spectacular."