This year, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three
individuals for “groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser
physics”: Arthur Ashkin with Bell Laboratories in the United States;
Gerard Mourou of the École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, and the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Donna Strickland from the
University of Waterloo in Canada.
Steve Smith, who earned his Ph.D. doing research in a National
Science Foundation Science and Technology Center directed by Mourou at
the University of Michigan, was pleased to hear Mourow was receiving a
share of the Nobel Prize.
“It’s nice he received a part of this prize. But it also gives
acknowledgement to a lot of people in different areas of laser physics.
That’s usually how it works—one person gets the prize but there are
hundreds of people doing similar work that is very impactful, and this
elevates their research as well,” said Smith, who is a professor and
director of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SD Mines).
At Deep Talks: Nobel Day,
Smith will discuss the topics relating to this year's Nobel Prize in
Physics, including Mourou’s work in the field of laser physics and how
it has impacted a variety of scientific and technologica...