A Canadian scientist who became only the third woman to win the Nobel Prize for Physics said her personal triumph doubles as a sign of progress for her male-dominated industry.
Donna Strickland, associate professor at Ontariosa国际传媒檚 University of Waterloo, was honoured on Tuesday for being half of the team to discover Chirped Pulse Amplification, a technique that underpins todaysa国际传媒檚 short-pulse, high-intensity lasers.
The 59-year-old Guelph, Ont., native made the discovery while completing her PhD at the University of Rochester in New York and will share half of the US$1.01-million prize with her doctoral adviser, French physicist Gerard Mourou. Arthur Ashkin of the United States was the third winner of the 2018 physics prize.
Stricklandsa国际传媒檚 victory not only cemented her own place in Nobel history, but ended a 55-year-long drought for female physicists being recognized by the prize committee. She joins the ranks of Marie Curie, the first woman to claim the honour in 1903, and 1963 winner Maria Goeppert-Mayer.
Strickland said reflecting on Goeppert-Mayersa国际传媒檚 career shows how far the scientific field has come in terms of gender parity despite the fact that women still make up only a quarter of attendees at major conferences.
Goeppert-Mayer, whose work was cited in Stricklandsa国际传媒檚 own award-winning efforts, went largely unpaid throughout her career.
READ MORE: Canadian female physicist wins Nobel Prize
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 true that a woman hasnsa国际传媒檛 been given the Nobel Prize since then, but I think things are better for women than they have been,sa国际传媒� Strickland told the Canadian Press in an interview. sa国际传媒漌e should never lose the fact that we are moving forward. We are always marching forward.sa国际传媒�
Swedensa国际传媒檚 Royal Academy of Sciences, which chose the winners, described Strickland and Mourousa国际传媒檚 work as sa国际传媒渞evolutionary.sa国际传媒�
The Chirped Pulse Amplification Technique, first laid out in a 1985 article, was described by the academy as sa国际传媒済enerating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses,sa国际传媒� which have become a critical part of corrective eye surgeries amongst other uses.
Strickland said she and Mourou were well aware that they were onto something in 1982 when they began researching ways to allow lasers to perform high-intensity, ultra-short pulses that would not damage the equipment.
When the pair refined the technique, Strickland recalled Mourousa国际传媒檚 advice to talk up their accomplishment and tell their peers that the gigawatt laser they had developed would lay the groundwork for devices a million times more powerful down the road.
sa国际传媒淚 knew he was right, it just seemed very bombastic for me to say it in front of the experts of the world,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 found that hard.sa国际传媒�
Mourousa国际传媒檚 prediction came to pass a mere decade later, she said, adding Chirped Pulse Amplification now has broad applications.
A 2011 profile on the University of Waterloo website says Strickland described herself as a sa国际传媒渓aser jocksa国际传媒� who enjoyed the competitive rush, and was working on creating the shortest laser pulse with the biggest punch.
Mourou had been Stricklandsa国际传媒檚 PhD supervisor and said he was thrilled at the win.
sa国际传媒淚 am very, very happy to share this distinction with my former student Donna Strickland and also to share it with Art Ashkin, for whom I have a lot of respect,sa国际传媒� he said in a video released by Francesa国际传媒檚 脡cole Polytechnique, where he is professor.
sa国际传媒淲ith the technology we have developed, laser power has been increased about a million times, maybe even a billion.sa国际传媒�
Ashkin, of Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, developed sa国际传媒渙ptical tweezerssa国际传媒� that can grab tiny particles such as viruses without damaging them.
The University of Waterloo said Stricklandsa国际传媒檚 win was a sa国际传媒渢remendous daysa国际传媒� for the school.
sa国际传媒淭his is Waterloosa国际传媒檚 first Nobel laureate and the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 55 years,sa国际传媒� the universitysa国际传媒檚 president and vice-chancellor, Feridun Hamdullahpur, said in a statement.
The universitysa国际传媒檚 campus was abuzz with the news Tuesday morning.
Charmaine Dean, vice-president of research, said the university will be celebrating Stricklandsa国际传媒檚 win all year, but also emphasized that the prize means so much more than just an achievement for the professor and the school.
sa国际传媒淭his gives us a rallying point and a flag to hold high,sa国际传媒� Dean said with a broad smile. sa国际传媒淭his gives a beacon for further conversations about women in science and technology.sa国际传媒�
Strickland said she recognizes that her new status as a Nobel winner may boost her status as a role model for young women wishing to pursue a career in science, adding those with such dreams should go out and pursue them.
Despite a pervasive lack of official recognition for women scientists, Strickland said she has not personally experienced fundamental inequality and believes the field is ready to give women a more prominent place.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e always gotten paid equal to my colleagues and I feel Isa国际传媒檝e been treated equally,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 feel that women should start to get to be recognized more because for some reason not all men want to recognize us or not all people, but I think thatsa国际传媒檚 a minority. I think the majority of people are ready.sa国际传媒�
With files from Michelle McQuigge and The Associated Press
Liam Casey , The Canadian Press
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