Abstract
Cooling atomic gases to ultracold temperatures revolutionized the field of atomic physics, connecting with
and impacting many other areas in physics. Advances in producing ultracold molecules suggest similarly
dramatic discoveries are on the horizon. First, I will review the physics of ultracold molecules, including
our work bringing a new class of molecules to nanokelvin temperatures. Chemistry at these temperatures has a
very different character than at room temperature. One striking effect is our recent result using spin
states of reactants to control chemical reaction pathways. I will also describe how the strong electric
dipole moments of ultracold molecules present an exciting new tool for quantum information and quantum
computing.