title: Cold atoms and quantum control.
abstract: This overview prefaces a collection of Insight review articles on the physics and applications of laser-cooled atoms. I will cast this work into a historical perspective in which laser cooling and trapping is seen as one of several research directions aimed at controlling the internal and external degrees of freedom of atoms and molecules.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4060, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chu