Nobel Celebration of Attosecond Physics

The Physics Department celebrated the 2023 Physics Nobel Prize, which was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Anne L’Huillier, and Ferenc Krausz for “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter”.

The Physics Department Head, Shufang Su, kick started the event and introduced three professors in the department, namely, Arvinder Sandhu, Mohammed Hassan, and Nikolay Golubev, who are conducting research on the novel applications of attosecond science.

College of Science Dean, Carmie Garzione, welcomed the attendees, and acknowledged the contributions from the department to this exciting and fast progressing field. Vice Dean, Daniel Apai, also expressed his pleasure about the “attosecond research” at UA and shared an interesting anecdote regarding per personal interaction in the field of ultrafast science during his undergrad career.

Arvinder Sandhu, Mohammed Hassan, and Nikolay Golubev then shared stories about their entry into this research topic, and their journey from being a student to a professor. Mohammed Hassan’s story was especially noteworthy, as he worked as graduate student of one of the Nobel prize winners, and had a closeup view of the inner workings of that lab. The attosecond professors also showed slides to students highlighting the basic concepts and application potential of this field of research. Special emphasis was placed on the opportunities for the graduate students in this fast evolving field. The audience consisting of undergraduate student, graduate students, and physics faculty, interacted with the speakers by asking questions about the open challenges in the field and the next steps.

Celebrations were accompanied by food and sparkling cider drinks. Cheers to the “Attosecond Science”!