Professor Dr. Donna Strickland

Biography

Donna Strickland is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. She is a Nobel Prize laureate in Physics 2018 for her pivotal work in developing Chirped Pulse Amplification, a technique that has revolutionized the production of intense laser pulses. Strickland completed her PhD in Optics at the University of Rochester, where she worked under the supervision of Gérard Mourou. Alongside Mourou, she created methods for generating the most intense laser pulses ever produced. Her research has extensive applications in industries ranging from medicine, particularly laser eye surgery, to precision machining for electronics. Strickland has held various prestigious roles throughout her career, including a research associate at the National Research Council of Canada and technical staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Since joining the University of Waterloo in 1997, she has advanced research in ultrafast laser systems and nonlinear optics. Strickland has received multiple accolades, such as the Sloan Research Fellowship and the Premier's Research Excellence Award, is a Fellow of several renowned societies, and has authored highly cited works in her field.

Research Interests

Awards