physics

Tara Fortier

Tara Fortier is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tara Fortier rather than just read about it. In short: Tara Michele Fortier is a Canadian physicist and Project Leader in the Time and Frequency Division at National Institute of Standards and Technology. Her research considers precision optical and microwave metrology.

Key takeaways

Tara Fortier belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tara Fortier to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tara Fortier from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tara Michele Fortier is a Canadian physicist and Project Leader in the Time and Frequency Division at National Institute of Standards and Technology. Her research considers precision optical and microwave metrology. She was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022 and awarded the SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award in High-Speed Optics in 2023.

Early life and education Fortier attended Concordia University as an undergraduate student, where she majored in physics and graduated summa cum laude in 1998. Fortier was a doctoral researcher at JILA, where she developed pulsed laser systems for precision measurements. Her postdoctoral work involved a joint position between National Institute of Standards and Technology and Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she searched for violations of Einstein's laws.

Research and career Fortier was made a Project Leader at National Institute of Standards and Technology, where she develops optical and microwave metrology. In particular, Fortier uses phase stabilised mode-locked lasers to synthesise stable optical signals for optical clocks. Her efforts to create optical clocks have contributed to more accurate measurements of the second. Optical clocks use atoms (e.g. ytterbium and strontium) that oscillate at very high frequencies. Her team at NIST used eight hydrogen masers to keep time when the optical clock could not function. They achieved a ytterbium-based optical clock that only lost 100 seconds over the age of the universe.

Awards and honours 2004 Los Alamos National Laboratory Postdoctoral Director's Fellowship 2008 European Frequency and Time Forum Young Scientist Award 2014 Outstanding Paper from IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society 2017 and 2019 NIST Outstanding Associate Award 2021 Optica Fellow 2021 Department of Commerce Bronze Medal 2021 NIST-PML Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award 2021 NIST Diversity, Inclusivity and Equal Employment Opportunity Award 2022 American Physical Society Fellow 2023 SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award in High-Speed Optics

Select publications T Rosenband; D B Hume; P O Schmidt; et al. (6 March 2008). "Frequency ratio of Al+ and Hg+ single-ion optical clocks; metrology at the 17th decimal place". Science. 319 (5871): 1808–1812. doi:10.1126/science.1154622. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 18323415. Wikidata Q34759219. T. M. Fortier; M. S. Kirchner; F. Quinlan; et al. (26 June 2011). "Generation of ultrastable microwaves via optical frequency division". Nature Photonics. 5 (7): 425–429. arXiv:1101.3616. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2011.121. ISSN 1749-4885. Wikidata Q59473807. A D Ludlow; T Zelevinsky; G K Campbell; et al. (14 February 2008). "Sr lattice clock at 1 x 10(-16) fractional uncertainty by remote optical evaluation with a Ca clock". Science. 319 (5871): 1805–1808. arXiv:0801.4344. Bibcode:2008Sci...319.1805L. doi:10.1126/science.1153341. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 18276849. Wikidata Q39834721.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tara Fortier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tara Fortier claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tara Fortier before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tara Fortier ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tara Fortier

In research: Tara Fortier appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tara Fortier in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tara Fortier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century Canadian physicists, 21st-century Canadian women physicists, Concordia University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tara Fortier outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tara Fortier in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tara Fortier means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tara Fortier out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tara Fortier in simple terms?

Why does Tara Fortier matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tara Fortier?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tara Fortier.