LEADING LIGHTS

Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to Three ‘Groundbreaking’ Laser Scientists

Including Donna Strickland, the first female laureate in 55 years.

The Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to three scientists for their breakthroughs in laser technology. The three experts—Arthur Ashkin of the U.S., Gerard Mourou of France, and Donna Strickland of Canada—will share a nine million kronor prize, which is roughly $1 million. Strickland is the first woman in 55 years to be named the physics laureate. Ashkin developed a laser technique described as optical tweezers, which can move particles, atoms, and molecules with laser-beam fingers. Mourou and Strickland developed a way to create the shortest and most intense laser pulses ever created by humankind, allowing people to cut or drill holes in various materials with extreme precision.