German-American physicist Hans Georg Dehmelt served in the German army during the Second World War, was captured in battle, sent to an American prisoner-of-war camp, and then returned to Germany in 1946.

After attending Breslau Technical University, the University of Göttingen, and the Institute of Hans Kopfermann, where in 1950 he earns his Ph.D., he goes to the University of Washington, Seattle, as a visiting assistant professor.

In 1955, he develops the Penning trap, which can confine electrons and ions in a small space for long periods in relative isolation.