Donna Strickland
Donna Strickland is a distinguished Canadian physicist known for her groundbreaking contributions to the field of laser technology. Born on May 27, 1959, in Guelph, Ontario, she pursued her education in engineering physics at McMaster University and later earned a PhD in optics from the University of Rochester. Strickland's most notable achievement is the development of chirped pulse amplification, a method she co-invented with her doctoral advisor, Dr. Gerard Mourou, which revolutionized laser physics. This innovation has enabled significant advancements in both medical and industrial applications, including laser eye surgery and precision machining.
In recognition of her work, Strickland was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, making her one of the few women to achieve this honor in the field. She has held various academic and leadership positions, including a professorship at the University of Waterloo, and has actively participated in numerous professional organizations, such as the Optical Society. Strickland's achievements have also earned her multiple accolades, including membership in prestigious academies and honors like the Companion of the Order of Canada. Outside of her professional life, she is married and has two children, residing in Waterloo, Ontario.
Subject Terms
Donna Strickland
Physicist
- Born: May 27, 1959
- Place of Birth: Guelph, Ontario
Education: McMaster University; University of Rochester
Significance: Donna Strickland is a Nobel Prize–winning physicist whose pioneering work in lasers made possible their use in applications in medicine and industry.
Background
Donna Strickland was born on May 27, 1959, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, to Edith J. Strickland, a high school English teacher, and Lloyd Strickland, an electrical engineer. She has a sister, Anne, and a brother, Rob, and grew up in Guelph. She attended Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute, where she excelled in physics and math. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the engineering physics program at McMaster University. She received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics in 1981. She then attended the University of Rochester for her doctoral studies and received a PhD in optics in 1989.
Career in Physics
At the University of Rochester, Strickland conducted research in the laser lab of Dr. Gerard Mourou, her doctoral advisor. They worked together to find a way to amplify high-intensity laser beams without destroying the material used to amplify them. At the time, when a laser beam was amplified to give it the power to cut through something, it also melted the amplifier, such as a crystal. Mourou and Strickland identified a method to amplify lasers without creating the damaging effect. First, they stretched the laser beam to reduce its peak intensity. Next, they amplified the signal and compressed it into a very short pulse of less than a fraction of a second. This created an extremely intense burst of laser light that could cut through materials with great precision without damaging the amplifier. They called their process chirped pulse amplification. They reported their research in the article “Compression of Amplified Chirped Optical Pulses” in the journal Optics Communications in December 1985. Strickland built on the discovery of amplified chirped optical pulses for her doctoral research and completed her dissertation, titled “Development of an Ultrabright Laser and an Application to Multiphoton Ionization,” in 1989. Strickland and Mourou’s discovery revolutionized laser physics and made possible the application of lasers for medical and industrial uses, including eye surgery and industrial machining. It also opened up research into the use of chirping lasers to speed up subatomic particles in particle accelerators.
In 1988, Strickland joined the National Research Council of Canada as a research associate. She moved to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1991, where she worked as a physicist in the laser division until 1992. From 1992 to 1997, she was a technical staff member at Princeton University’s Advanced Technology Center for Photonics and Optoelectronic Materials.
Strickland joined the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo in 1997. She became an associate professor in 2007 and a professor in 2018. She became the associate chair of the physics and astronomy department in 2007. She teaches physics classes, conducts laser research, and runs the Ultrafast Laser Group laboratory for students. Her research has focused on developing shorter, faster, and more intense laser pulses than the ones she and Mourou discovered in 1985 and using them to investigate physics phenomena, such as the nonlinear optical technique of multifrequency Raman generation and the spectral region. Her research team has worked on developing a two-color, short pulse fiber laser system that could be used to detect trace gases of explosives. The team has also worked on a project involving the micromachining of the eye’s lens as a way to cure presbyopia, the gradual farsightedness that comes with aging.
In 2018, the Nobel Foundation awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Strickland and Mourou for their groundbreaking development of chirped pulse amplification. The other half went to American scientist Arthur Ashkin for his development of optical tweezers, the use of light to trap and manipulate small objects.
In addition to her work at the University of Waterloo, Strickland has been very active with the Optical Society (OSA). She was named an OSA Fellow in 2008 and served as OSA’s president in 2013. She has also has served on numerous OSA committees and boards, including the Education Services Council, Board’s Executive Committee, International Commission for Optics Board, Presidential Advisory Committee, Public Policy Council, and International Photonics Advocacy Congress. She also has served on the editorial board of and as a topical editor of its journal Optics Letters.
In 2019, Strickland became an honorary fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. That same year, she was made fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2020 Strickland was both made a member of the National Academy of Sciences as well as a fellow of the Royal Society. In 2021 Strickland was appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, a research institute located in the Vatican City.
Other professional awards and recognitions include being named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in 1998, the Premier’s Research Excellence Award in 1999, and the Research Corporation’s Cottrell Scholars Award in 2000. In 2019 Strickland was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the nation's most prestigious honors. In 2022, she was awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
Impact
Strickland and Mourou’s discovery of how to manipulate lasers into pulses, or short bursts of high intensity, has made possible laser eye surgery and various industrial applications. It also has been used to develop research tools, such as slow-motion laser cameras that record chemical and physical reactions. Its potential is still being developed as scientists investigate other applications.
Strickland’s Nobel Prize was unusual in that she won the Nobel for research she conducted as a doctoral student. Unlike many graduate students who are not credited for the work they do during a graduate research program, Strickland was listed as an author on the article that reported the work she did with Mourou. While many people have heralded Strickland as a role model for girls, Strickland has told reporters she hopes her Nobel Prize inspires both girls and boys to follow their interests and pursue careers in science if that is what interest them.
Personal Life
Strickland is married to Doug Dykaar. They have two children and live in Waterloo, Ontario.
Bibliography
Andrew-Gee, Eric. "Order of Canada: Stephen Harper, Donna Strickland, Xavier Dolan among New Appointments." The Globe and Mail, www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-order-of-canada-stephen-harper-donna-strickland-xavier-dolan-among/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
“Donna Strickland.” University of Waterloo, uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/people-profiles/donna-strickland. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
McBride, Jason. “Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland: ‘I See Myself as a Scientist, Not a Woman in Science.’”The Guardian,20 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/20/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-i-see-myself-as-a-scientist-not-a-woman-in-science. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
McDonald, Bob. “Donna Strickland, Canada’s Latest Nobel Winner, Is a ‘Laser Jock’ Who Loves the Lab.” CBC Radio, 5 Oct. 2018, www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/oct-6-2018-canada-s-newest-nobel-laureate-reading-surgeons-minds-sniffing-out-shark-water-and-more-1.4850312/donna-strickland-canada-s-latest-nobel-winner-is-a-laser-jock-who-loves-the-lab-1.4850340. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Semeniuk, Ivan. “Canada’s Newest Nobel Prize Winner, Donna Strickland, ‘Just Wanted to Do Something Fun.’” The Globe and Mail, 2 Oct. 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-canadian-scientist-donna-strickland-shares-nobel-physics-prize/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Strickland, Donna. “Banquet Speech.” NobelPrize.org, 10 Dec. 2018, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2018/strickland/speech/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.