Donna Strickland

Donna Theo Strickland (born 27 May 1959)[1][2][3] is

a Canadian optical physicist and pioneer in the field of Donna Strickland
CC FRS FRSC HonFInstP
pulsed lasers. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics in 2018, together with Gérard Mourou, for the
practical implementation of chirped pulse
[4]
amplification. She is a professor at the University of
Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.[5]

She served as fellow, vice president, and president of

Optica (formerly OSA), and is currently chair of its
Presidential Advisory Committee. In 2018, she was
listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[6] She has gone on
to have the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada Prize being set in her name. Strickland in 2018
Born Donna Theo Strickland
27 May 1959
Early life and education Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Strickland was born on 27 May 1959, in Guelph, Spouse Doug Dykaar

Ontario, Canada to Edith J. (née Ranney), an English Awards Nobel Prize (2018)
teacher,[7] and Lloyd Strickland, an electrical
Scholarly background
engineer.[1] After graduating from Guelph Collegiate
Vocational Institute, she decided to attend McMaster Alma mater McMaster University
University because its engineering physics program University of Rochester
included lasers and electro-optics, areas of particular Thesis Development of an Ultra-Bright
interest to her.[7] At McMaster, she was one of three Laser and an Application to Multi-
women in a class of twenty-five. Strickland graduated photon Ionization (https://web.arc
with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in engineering hive.org/web/20130707150743/ht
physics in 1981.[8] tp://www.lle.rochester.edu/media/
publications/documents/theses/St
Strickland studied for her graduate degree in The
rickland.pdf) (1988)
Institute of Optics,[9] receiving a Doctor of Philosophy
degree from the University of Rochester in Doctoral Gérard Mourou
advisor
1989.[10][11] She conducted her doctoral research at the
associated Laboratory for Laser Energetics, supervised Scholarly work
by Gérard Mourou.[12] Strickland and Mourou worked Discipline Physics
to develop an experimental setup that could raise the Sub- Optics
peak power of laser pulses, to overcome a limitation, discipline
that when the maximal intensity of laser pulses reached
Institutions National Research Council of
gigawatts per square centimetre, self-focusing of the
Canada
pulses severely damaged the amplifying part of the
laser. Their 1985 technique of chirped pulse Lawrence Livermore National
amplification stretched out each laser pulse both Laboratory
spectrally and in time before amplifying it, then Princeton University
compressed each pulse back to its original duration, University of Waterloo
generating ultrashort optical pulses of terawatt to
petawatt intensity.[1] Using chirped pulse amplification Main Intense laser–matter interactions
allowed smaller high-power laser systems to be built interests · nonlinear optics · short-pulse
on a typical laboratory optical table, as "table-top intense laser systems · chirped
pulse amplification · ultrafast
terawatt lasers".[12] The work received the 2018 Nobel
optics
Prize in Physics.[13]

Career and research

From 1988 to 1991, Strickland was a research
associate at the National Research Council of
Canada, where she worked with Paul Corkum in
the Ultrafast Phenomena Section, which had the
distinction at that time of having produced the
most powerful short-pulse laser in the world.[14]
She worked in the laser division of Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory from 1991 to
1992 and joined the technical staff of Princeton
University's Advanced Technology Center for
Strickland's ultrafast laser group at the University of
Photonics and Opto-electronic Materials in 1992. Waterloo in 2017
She joined the University of Waterloo in 1997 as
an assistant professor.[10] She became the first
full-time female professor in physics at the University of Waterloo.[15] Strickland is currently a professor,
leading an ultrafast laser group that develops high-intensity laser systems for nonlinear optics
investigations.[5] She has described herself as a "laser jock":[13]

I think it's because we thought we were good with our hands. As an experimentalist, you need
to understand the physics, but you also need to be able to actually make something work, and
the lasers were very finicky in those days.[7]

Strickland's recent work has focused on pushing the boundaries of ultrafast optical science to new
wavelength ranges such as the mid-infrared and the ultraviolet, using techniques such as two-colour or
multi-frequency methods, as well as Raman generation.[5] She is also working on the role of high-power
lasers in the microcrystalline lens of the human eye, during the process of micromachining of the eye lens
to cure presbyopia.[5]
Strickland became a fellow of Optica[a] in 2008. She served as its vice president and president in 2011
and 2013 respectively, and was a topical editor of its journal Optics Letters from 2004 to 2010.[5][16] She
is currently the chair of Optica's Presidential Advisory Committee.[17] She is a member of and previously
served as a board member and Director of Academic Affairs for the Canadian Association of
Physicists.[18][19]

Awards and recognition

1998 – Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship[20]
1999 – Premier's Research Excellence Award[10]
2000 – Cottrell Scholars Award from Research
Corporation[21]
2008 – Fellow of The Optical Society[10][13][22] 0:00
2018 – Nobel Prize in Physics
2019 – Golden Plate Award of the American
Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Strickland, 2016
Council member Frances Arnold[23][24]
2019 – Companion of the Order of Canada[25]
2019 – Honorary Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering[26]
2019 – Fellow of Royal Society of Canada[27]
2020 – Member of the National Academy of Sciences[28]
2020 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
2021 – Appointed to Pontifical Academy of Sciences[29]
2022 – Awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, the highest French
distinction.[30]
2022 – Awarded Honorary Member of Optica.[31]
2022 – Awarded Joseph Carrier C.S.C. Science Medal from the University of Notre Dame.
[32]

2024 – Awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Alberta[33]

Nobel Prize
On 2 October 2018, Strickland was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for her work on chirped pulse
amplification with her doctoral adviser Gérard Mourou. Arthur Ashkin received the other half of the prize
for unrelated work on optical tweezers. She became the third woman ever to be awarded the Nobel Prize
in Physics, after Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert Mayer in 1963.[5][34]

Strickland and Mourou published their pioneering work "Compression of amplified chirped optical
pulses" in 1985, while Strickland was still a doctoral student under Mourou.[b] Their invention of chirped
pulse amplification for lasers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester[12] led to the
development of the field of high-intensity ultrashort pulses of light beams. Because the ultrabrief and
ultrasharp light beams are capable of making extremely precise cuts, the technique is used in laser
micromachining, laser surgery, medicine, fundamental science studies, and other applications. It has
enabled doctors to perform millions of corrective laser eye surgeries.[36] She said that after developing
the technique they knew it would be a significant discovery.[13]

When she received the Nobel Prize, many commentators were surprised that she had not reached the rank
of full professor. In response, Strickland said that she had "never applied" for a professorship;[37] "it
doesn't carry necessarily a pay raise ... I never filled out the paper work ... I do what I want to do and that
wasn't worth doing."[7] Strickland had not applied to be a full professor prior to her Nobel prize, but in
October 2018, she told the BBC that she had subsequently applied and was promoted to full professorship
at the University of Waterloo.[38]

Order of Canada
Strickland was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2019, one of Canada's highest
civilian honours.[25]

Personal life
Strickland is married to Douglas Dykaar, who received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the
University of Rochester.[8][39] They have two children:[8] Hannah, a graduate student in astrophysics at
the University of Toronto,[15] and Adam, who is studying comedy at Humber College.[40] Strickland is an
active member of the United Church of Canada.[41]

Selected publications
Strickland, Donna; Mourou, Gerard (1985). "Compression of amplified chirped optical
pulses". Optics Communications. 56 (3): 219–221. Bibcode:1985OptCo..56..219S (https://ui.
adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985OptCo..56..219S). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.673.148 (https://citeseer
x.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.673.148). doi:10.1016/0030-4018(85)90120-8 (h
ttps://doi.org/10.1016%2F0030-4018%2885%2990120-8). ISSN 0030-4018 (https://search.
worldcat.org/issn/0030-4018).
Maine, P.; Strickland, D.; Bado, P.; Pessot, M.; Mourou, G. (1988). "Generation of ultrahigh
peak power pulses by chirped pulse amplification". IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics. 24
(2): 398–403. Bibcode:1988IJQE...24..398M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988IJQE...
24..398M). doi:10.1109/3.137 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2F3.137). ISSN 0018-9197 (https://s
earch.worldcat.org/issn/0018-9197).
Strickland, D.; Corkum, P. B. (1994). "Resistance of short pulses to self-focusing" (https://ww
w.osapublishing.org/josab/fulltext.cfm?uri=josab-11-3-492&id=7305). Journal of the Optical
Society of America B. 11 (3): 492–497. Bibcode:1994JOSAB..11..492S (https://ui.adsabs.ha
rvard.edu/abs/1994JOSAB..11..492S). doi:10.1364/JOSAB.11.000492 (https://doi.org/10.13
64%2FJOSAB.11.000492). S2CID 122336320 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:12
2336320).

See also
Criticism of Wikipedia#Notability of article topics
 List of University of Waterloo people
Women in physics

Notes
a. Then known as Optical Society of America (OSA).
b. Strickland attempted to add Steve Williamson as an author of the article, but Williamson
removed the name as "he hadn't done enough".[7][35]

References
1. Strickland, Donna Theo (1988). Development of an ultra-bright laser and an application to
multi-photon ionization (http://www.lle.rochester.edu/media/publications/documents/theses/S
trickland.pdf) (PDF) (PhD). University of Rochester. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0130707150743/http://www.lle.rochester.edu/media/publications/documents/theses/Stricklan
d.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
2. Lindinger, Manfred (2 October 2018). "Eine Zange aus lauter Licht" (https://www.faz.net/aktu
ell/wissen/nobelpreise/physik-nobelpreis-2018-praezisionswerkzeuge-aus-laserlicht-158184
93.html). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2018.
3. "Donna Strickland – Facts – 2018" (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2018/stricklan
d/facts/). Nobel Foundation. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
4. Sample, Ian; Davis, Nicola (2 October 2018). "Physics Nobel prize won by Arthur Ashkin,
Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland" (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/02/ar
thur-ashkin-gerard-mourou-and-donna-strickland-win-nobel-physics-prize). The Guardian.
Retrieved 4 October 2018.
5. "Donna Strickland" (https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/people-profiles/donna-stricklan
d). University of Waterloo. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
6. "BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list?" (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46225037).
BBC News. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
7. Booth, Laura (3 October 2018). "Scientist caught in a Nobel whirlwind" (https://www.therecor
d.com/news-story/8943888-scientist-caught-in-a-nobel-whirlwind/?s=n1). Waterloo Region
Record. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
8. Semeniuk, Ivan (2 October 2018). "Canada's newest Nobel Prize winner, Donna Strickland,
'just wanted to do something fun' " (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-canadian
-scientist-donna-strickland-shares-nobel-physics-prize/). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved
3 October 2018.
9. Mourou, Gérard (2004). "53. The dawn of ultrafast science and technology at the University
of Rochester" (https://web.archive.org/web/20181003101450/http://www2.optics.rochester.e
du/~stroud/BookHTML/ChapVI_pdf/VI_53.pdf) (PDF). In Stroud, Carlos (ed.). A Jewel in the
Crown: 75th Anniversary Essays of The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester (htt
p://www2.optics.rochester.edu/~stroud/BookHTML/contents.htm). Rochester, NY: Meliora
Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1580461627. Archived from the original (http://www2.optics.rochest
er.edu/~stroud/BookHTML/ChapVI_pdf/VI_53.pdf) (PDF) on 3 October 2018. Retrieved
8 October 2018.
10. "Biographies – Donna T. Strickland" (https://www.osa.org/en-us/history/biographies/donna-t-
strickland/). The Optical Society. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
11. "Donna Strickland" (https://web.archive.org/web/20181002182312/https://uwaterloo.ca/educ
ation-program-for-photonics-professionals/people-profiles/donna-strickland). Education
Program for Photonics Professionals. University of Waterloo. 11 September 2012. Archived
from the original (https://uwaterloo.ca/education-program-for-photonics-professionals/people
-profiles/donna-strickland) on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
12. Valich, Lindsey (2 October 2018). "Rochester breakthrough in laser science earns Nobel
Prize" (http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/rochesters-breakthrough-in-laser-science-earn
s-nobel-prize-340302/). NewsCenter. University of Rochester. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
13. Murphy, Jessica (2 October 2018). "Donna Strickland: The 'laser jock' Nobel prize winner" (h
ttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45722890). BBC News. Retrieved 2 October
2018.
14. Page, Shelley (19 October 1990). "Laser lab makes short work of super beam" (https://www.
newspapers.com/clip/24232914/laser_lab_makes_short_work_of_super_beam/). Ottawa
Citizen.
15. Nusca, Andrew (17 October 2018). "Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland: Yes, Women Are
Joining Physics. But We've Got Work to Do" (http://fortune.com/2018/10/16/nobel-donna-stri
ckland-women-physics/). Fortune. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
16. "Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou, and Donna Strickland Awarded 2018 Nobel Prize in
Physics" (https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2018/arthur_ashk
in_gerard_mourou_and_donna_strickland_a/). The Optical Society. 2 October 2018.
Retrieved 25 November 2018.
17. "Standing and Ad Hoc Committees" (https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/leadership_and_
volunteers/committees/standing_ad_hoc_committees/#PAC%7COSA). The Optical Society.
Retrieved 4 October 2018.
18. "News Flash: Canadian physicist, Donna Strickland, co-recipient of 2018 Nobel Prize in
Physics" (https://www.cap.ca/publications/cap-news/2018-nobel-prize-physics/). Canadian
Association of Physicists. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
19. McBride, Jason (20 October 2018). "Nobel laureate Donna Strickland: 'I see myself as a
scientist, not a woman in science' " (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/20/nobel
-laureate-donna-strickland-i-see-myself-as-a-scientist-not-a-woman-in-science). The
Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
20. "Past Sloan Fellows" (https://web.archive.org/web/20161106043224/http://www.sloan.org/sl
oan-research-fellowships/past-fellows/). Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Archived from the
original (https://sloan.org/past-fellows/) on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
21. "Cottrell Scholars" (http://rescorp.org/gdresources/docs/cs-by-class-2018.pdf) (PDF).
Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
22. "2008 OSA Fellows" (https://www.osa.org/en-us/awards_and_grants/fellow_members/recent
_fellows/2008_fellows/). The Optical Society. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
23. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement" (https://achievement.or
g/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration). www.achievement.org. American
Academy of Achievement.
24. "2019 Summit Highlights Photo" (https://achievement.org/summit/2019/). "Dr. Frances H.
Arnold, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, presents the Golden Plate Award to Dr.
Donna Strickland, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, at the 2019 International
Achievement Summit in New York City."
25. Andrew-Gee, Eric. "Order of Canada: Stephen Harper, Donna Strickland, Xavier Dolan
among new appointments" (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-order-of-canad
a-stephen-harper-donna-strickland-xavier-dolan-among/). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved
28 December 2019.
26. "Professor Donna Strickland awarded CAE Honorary Fellowship" (https://cae-acg.ca/wp-con
tent/uploads/2019/06/Honorary-Announcement-2019.pdf) (PDF). 21 June 2019.
27. "Four CAP members appointed Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC)" (https://ww
w.cap.ca/publications/cap-news/4-cap-members-appointed-rsc-fellows/). Canadian
Association of Physicists. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
28. "2020 NAS Election" (http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2020-nas-electio
n.html). National Academy of Sciences. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
29. "Pope appoints new member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – Vatican News" (http
s://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-08/pope-francis-donna-strickland-pontific
al-academy-sciences.html). Vatican News. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
30. "La France décore Donna Strickland" (https://ca.ambafrance.org/La-France-decore-Donna-
Strickland). La France au Canada/France in Canada (in French). Retrieved 19 November
2022.
31. "Optica" (https://www.optica.org/en-us/get_involved/awards_and_honors/honorary_member
s/). Optica Honorary Members.
32. "From Fundamental to Functional: Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland accepts the inaugural
Rev. Carrier Medal for her work in laser physics" (https://science.nd.edu/news-and-media/ne
ws/from-fundamental-to-functional/#:~:text=Joseph%20Carrier%20C.S.C.,she%20said%20b
efore%20her%20visit.). Notre Dame College of Science. 21 November 2022. Retrieved
21 November 2022.
33. Camminga, Sandrine (23 April 2024). "Meet eight honorary degree recipients who are
building a better world" (https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2024/04/meet-eight-honorary-degre
e-recipients-who-are-building-a-better-world.html). Folio. University of Alberta. Retrieved
13 October 2024.
34. Rincon, Paul (2 October 2018). "First woman Physics Nobel winner in 55 years" (https://ww
w.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45655151). BBC News. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
35. Strickland, Donna; Mourou, Gerard (15 October 1985). "Compression of amplified chirped
optical pulses". Optics Communications. 55 (6): 447–449. Bibcode:1985OptCo..55..447S (ht
tps://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985OptCo..55..447S). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.673.148 (https://ci
teseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.673.148). doi:10.1016/0030-
4018(85)90151-8 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0030-4018%2885%2990151-8). ISSN 0030-
4018 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0030-4018).
36. " 'Optical Tweezers' and Tools Used for Laser Eye Surgery Snag Physics Nobel" (https://ww
w.scientificamerican.com/article/optical-tweezers-and-tools-used-for-laser-eye-surgery-snag
-physics-nobel1/). Scientific American. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
37. Crowe, Cailin (2 October 2018). " 'I Never Applied': Nobel Winner Explains Associate-
Professor Status, but Critics Still See Steeper Slope for Women" (https://www.chronicle.co
m/article/I-Never-Applied-Nobel/244699). The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved
7 October 2018.
38. "Nobel laureate Donna Strickland is now full professor" (https://www.therecord.com/news/wa
terloo-region/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-is-now-full-professor/article_a8423bf5-7902-5
074-9289-59737f50dae9.html). Waterloo Region Record. 25 October 2018. Retrieved
26 February 2024.
39. Dykaar, Doug. "Doug Dykaar" (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dykaar). LinkedIn.
40. "Nobel laureate Donna Strickland: 'I see myself as a scientist, not a woman in science' " (htt
ps://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/20/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-i-see-mysel
f-as-a-scientist-not-a-woman-in-science). The Guardian. 20 October 2018. ISSN 0261-3077
(https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 31 October 2018.
41. Mitchell, Alanna (28 March 2019). "How This Nobel Prize Winner Balances Physics And
Faith" (https://broadview.org/donna-strickland-is-a-church-lady-and-a-nobel-prize-winning-sc
ientist/). Broadview.
External links
Faculty profile (https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/people-profiles/donna-strickland) at
the University of Waterloo
Donna Strickland (https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/962) on Nobelprize.org , including the
Nobel Lecture on 8 December 2018 Generating High-Intensity Ultrashort Optical Pulses

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donna_Strickland&oldid=1268247967"