:Donna Strickland

Strickland was born on 27 May 1959, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada to Edith J. ({{née|Ranney}}), an English teacher,{{cite news |last1=Booth|first1=Laura |title=Scientist caught in a Nobel whirlwind |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/scientist-caught-in-a-nobel-whirlwind/article_839f4fb1-a095-5667-867c-16b73b64ae13.html|access-date=4 October 2018 |work=Waterloo Region Record |date=3 October 2018}} and Lloyd Strickland, an electrical engineer. After graduating from Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute, she decided to attend McMaster University because its engineering physics program included lasers and electro-optics, areas of particular interest to her. At McMaster, she was one of three women in a class of twenty-five. Strickland graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in engineering physics in 1981.{{cite news |last1=Semeniuk |first1=Ivan |title=Canada's newest Nobel Prize winner, Donna Strickland, 'just wanted to do something fun' |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-canadian-scientist-donna-strickland-shares-nobel-physics-prize/ |access-date=3 October 2018 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=2 October 2018}}

Strickland studied for her graduate degree in The Institute of Optics,{{cite book |last=Mourou |first=Gérard |author-link=Gérard Mourou |editor1-last=Stroud |editor1-first=Carlos |title=A Jewel in the Crown: 75th Anniversary Essays of The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester |date=2004 |publisher=Meliora Press |location=Rochester, NY |page=272 |chapter-url=http://www2.optics.rochester.edu/~stroud/BookHTML/ChapVI_pdf/VI_53.pdf |url=http://www2.optics.rochester.edu/~stroud/BookHTML/contents.htm |chapter=53. The dawn of ultrafast science and technology at the University of Rochester |isbn=978-1580461627 |access-date=8 October 2018 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003101450/http://www2.optics.rochester.edu/~stroud/BookHTML/ChapVI_pdf/VI_53.pdf |url-status=dead }} receiving a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Rochester in 1989.{{cite web |title=Biographies – Donna T. Strickland |url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/history/biographies/donna-t-strickland/ |publisher=The Optical Society |access-date=2 October 2018}}{{cite web |title=Donna Strickland |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/education-program-for-photonics-professionals/people-profiles/donna-strickland |website=Education Program for Photonics Professionals |publisher=University of Waterloo |access-date=2 October 2018 |date=11 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002182312/https://uwaterloo.ca/education-program-for-photonics-professionals/people-profiles/donna-strickland |archive-date=2 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}

She conducted her doctoral research at the associated Laboratory for Laser Energetics, supervised by Gérard Mourou.{{cite news|url=http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/rochesters-breakthrough-in-laser-science-earns-nobel-prize-340302/|title=Rochester breakthrough in laser science earns Nobel Prize|last=Valich|first=Lindsey|date=2 October 2018|work=NewsCenter|access-date=4 October 2018|publisher=University of Rochester}}

Strickland and Mourou worked to develop an experimental setup that could raise the peak power of laser pulses, to overcome a limitation, that when the maximal intensity of laser pulses reached gigawatts per square centimetre, self-focusing of the pulses severely damaged the amplifying part of the laser.

Their 1985 technique of chirped pulse amplification stretched out each laser pulse both spectrally and in time before amplifying it, then compressed each pulse back to its original duration, generating ultrashort optical pulses of terawatt to petawatt intensity.

Using chirped pulse amplification allowed smaller high-power laser systems to be built on a typical laboratory optical table, as "table-top terawatt lasers".

The work received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Jessica |title=Donna Strickland: The 'laser jock' Nobel prize winner |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45722890 |access-date=2 October 2018 |work=BBC News |date=2 October 2018}}

File:Ultrafast Laser group.jpg group at the University of Waterloo in 2017]]

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24232914/laser_lab_makes_short_work_of_super_beam/|title=Laser lab makes short work of super beam|last=Page|first=Shelley|date=19 October 1990|work=Ottawa Citizen}} 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 Photonics and Opto-electronic Materials in 1992. She joined the University of Waterloo in 1997 as an assistant professor. She became the first full-time female professor in physics at the University of Waterloo.{{cite news |last=Nusca |first=Andrew |url=http://fortune.com/2018/10/16/nobel-donna-strickland-women-physics/ |title=Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland: Yes, Women Are Joining Physics. But We've Got Work to Do |work=Fortune |date=17 October 2018 |access-date=17 October 2018 }} Strickland is currently a professor, leading an ultrafast laser group that develops high-intensity laser systems for nonlinear optics investigations. She has described herself as a "laser jock":

{{quote|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.}}

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. 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.

Strickland became a fellow of Optica{{efn|Then known as Optical Society of America (OSA).}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2018/arthur_ashkin_gerard_mourou_and_donna_strickland_a/|title=Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou, and Donna Strickland Awarded 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics|date=2 October 2018|work=The Optical Society|access-date=25 November 2018}} She is currently the chair of Optica's Presidential Advisory Committee.{{cite web|title=Standing and Ad Hoc Committees |url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/leadership_and_volunteers/committees/standing_ad_hoc_committees/#PAC%7COSA|work=The Optical Society|access-date=4 October 2018}} She is a member of and previously served as a board member and Director of Academic Affairs for the Canadian Association of Physicists.{{cite web|title=News Flash: Canadian physicist, Donna Strickland, co-recipient of 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics|url=https://www.cap.ca/publications/cap-news/2018-nobel-prize-physics/|website=Canadian Association of Physicists|access-date=25 October 2018|date=2 October 2018}}{{cite news|last=McBride|first=Jason|title=Nobel laureate Donna Strickland: 'I see myself as a scientist, not a woman in science' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/20/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-i-see-myself-as-a-scientist-not-a-woman-in-science |access-date=25 October 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|date=20 October 2018}}

File:CAM Video- 2018 Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland.webm

• 1998 – Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship{{cite web|url=https://sloan.org/past-fellows/|title=Past Sloan Fellows|publisher=Alfred P. Sloan Foundation|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=6 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106043224/http://www.sloan.org/sloan-research-fellowships/past-fellows/|url-status=dead}}
• 1999 – Premier's Research Excellence Award
• 2000 – Cottrell Scholars Award from Research Corporation{{cite web|url=http://rescorp.org/gdresources/docs/cs-by-class-2018.pdf|title=Cottrell Scholars|publisher=Research Corporation for Science Advancement|access-date=2 October 2018}}
• 2008 – Fellow of The Optical Society{{cite web|title=2008 OSA Fellows|url=https://www.osa.org/en-us/awards_and_grants/fellow_members/recent_fellows/2008_fellows/|work=The Optical Society|access-date=4 October 2018}}
• 2018 – Nobel Prize in Physics {{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2018/strickland/facts/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}
• 2019 – Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Frances Arnold{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}{{cite web|title=2019 Summit Highlights Photo |url=https://achievement.org/summit/2019/|quote= 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.}}
• 2019 – Companion of the Order of Canada
• 2019 – Honorary Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering{{cite web|date=21 June 2019|title=Professor Donna Strickland awarded CAE Honorary Fellowship|url=https://cae-acg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Honorary-Announcement-2019.pdf}}
• 2019 – Fellow of Royal Society of Canada{{cite web|url=https://www.cap.ca/publications/cap-news/4-cap-members-appointed-rsc-fellows/|title=Four CAP members appointed Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC)|publisher=Canadian Association of Physicists|date=10 October 2019|access-date=19 August 2021}}
• 2020 – Member of the National Academy of Sciences{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2020-nas-election.html|title=2020 NAS Election|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|date=27 April 2020|access-date=29 April 2020}}
• 2020 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
• 2021 – Appointed to Pontifical Academy of Sciences{{cite web|date=2 August 2021|title=Pope appoints new member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – Vatican News|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-08/pope-francis-donna-strickland-pontifical-academy-sciences.html|access-date=9 August 2021|website=Vatican News|language=en}}
• 2022 – Awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, the highest French distinction.{{cite web |title=La France décore Donna Strickland |url=https://ca.ambafrance.org/La-France-decore-Donna-Strickland |access-date=19 November 2022 |website=La France au Canada/France in Canada |language=fr}}
• 2022 – Awarded Honorary Member of Optica.{{cite web |title=Optica |url=https://www.optica.org/en-us/get_involved/awards_and_honors/honorary_members/ |website=Optica Honorary Members}}
• 2022 – Awarded Joseph Carrier C.S.C. Science Medal from the University of Notre Dame. {{cite web|date=21 November 2022|title=From Fundamental to Functional: Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland accepts the inaugural Rev. Carrier Medal for her work in laser physics|url=https://science.nd.edu/news-and-media/news/from-fundamental-to-functional/#:~:text=Joseph%20Carrier%20C.S.C.,she%20said%20before%20her%20visit.|website=Notre Dame College of Science|access-date=21 November 2022|language=en}}
• 2024 – Awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Alberta{{cite news |last1=Camminga |first1=Sandrine |title=Meet eight honorary degree recipients who are building a better world |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2024/04/meet-eight-honorary-degree-recipients-who-are-building-a-better-world.html |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Folio |publisher=University of Alberta |date=23 April 2024}}
• 2025 – Elected Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science. Corresponding members are eminent international scientists with strong ties to Australia who have made outstanding contributions to science.https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/news-and-media-releases/26-aussie-scientists-join-the-best-of-the-best

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45655151 |title=First woman Physics Nobel winner in 55 years |work=BBC News |first=Paul |last=Rincon |date=2 October 2018 |access-date=2 October 2018}}

Strickland and Mourou published their pioneering work "Compression of amplified chirped optical pulses" in 1985, while Strickland was still a doctoral student under Mourou.{{efn|Strickland attempted to add Steve Williamson as an author of the article, but Williamson removed the name as "he hadn't done enough".{{cite journal|date=15 October 1985 |title=Compression of amplified chirped optical pulses |journal=Optics Communications |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=447–449 |doi=10.1016/0030-4018(85)90151-8 |issn=0030-4018 |last1=Strickland |first1=Donna |last2=Mourou |first2=Gerard|citeseerx=10.1.1.673.148 |bibcode=1985OptCo..55..447S }}}} Their invention of chirped pulse amplification for lasers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester 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.{{cite web |title='Optical Tweezers' and Tools Used for Laser Eye Surgery Snag Physics Nobel |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/optical-tweezers-and-tools-used-for-laser-eye-surgery-snag-physics-nobel1/ |access-date=2 October 2018 |work=Scientific American |date=2 October 2018}} She said that after developing the technique they knew it would be a significant discovery.

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;{{cite journal |last1=Crowe |first1=Cailin |title='I Never Applied': Nobel Winner Explains Associate-Professor Status, but Critics Still See Steeper Slope for Women |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/I-Never-Applied-Nobel/244699 |journal=The Chronicle of Higher Education |access-date=7 October 2018|date=2 October 2018 }} "it doesn't carry necessarily a pay raise{{nbsp}}... I never filled out the paper work{{nbsp}}... I do what I want to do and that wasn't worth doing." 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-is-now-full-professor/article_a8423bf5-7902-5074-9289-59737f50dae9.html|title=Nobel laureate Donna Strickland is now full professor |access-date=26 February 2024 |newspaper=Waterloo Region Record|date=25 October 2018}}

Strickland was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2019, one of Canada's highest civilian honours.{{cite news |last1=Andrew-Gee |first1=Eric |title=Order of Canada: Stephen Harper, Donna Strickland, Xavier Dolan among new appointments |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-order-of-canada-stephen-harper-donna-strickland-xavier-dolan-among/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=28 December 2019}}

Strickland is married to Douglas Dykaar, who received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Rochester.{{cite web|last=Dykaar|first=Doug|title=Doug Dykaar|url=https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dykaar|website=LinkedIn}} They have two children: Hannah, a graduate student in astrophysics at the University of Toronto, and Adam, who is studying comedy at Humber College.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/20/nobel-laureate-donna-strickland-i-see-myself-as-a-scientist-not-a-woman-in-science|title=Nobel laureate Donna Strickland: 'I see myself as a scientist, not a woman in science'|date=20 October 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=31 October 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Strickland is an active member of the United Church of Canada.{{cite web|last=Mitchell|first=Alanna|date=March 28, 2019|url=https://broadview.org/donna-strickland-is-a-church-lady-and-a-nobel-prize-winning-scientist/|title=How This Nobel Prize Winner Balances Physics And Faith|website=Broadview}}

Strickland became a fellow of Optica (formerly known as Optical Society of America) 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. She is currently the chair of Optica's Presidential Advisory Committee.{{Cite web |title=Donna Strickland {{!}} Optica |url=https://www.optica.org/history/biographies/bios/donna-t-strickland/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.optica.org}}

She is a former president of the Optical Society and director of Academic Affairs for the Canadian Association of Physicists.

• {{cite journal|last1=Strickland|first1=Donna|last2=Mourou|first2=Gerard|title=Compression of amplified chirped optical pulses|journal=Optics Communications|volume=56|issue=3|year=1985|pages=219–221|issn=0030-4018|doi=10.1016/0030-4018(85)90120-8|citeseerx=10.1.1.673.148|bibcode=1985OptCo..56..219S}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Maine|first1=P.|last2=Strickland|first2=D.|last3=Bado|first3=P.|last4=Pessot|first4=M.|last5=Mourou|first5=G.|title=Generation of ultrahigh peak power pulses by chirped pulse amplification|journal=IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics|volume=24|issue=2|year=1988|pages=398–403|issn=0018-9197|doi=10.1109/3.137|bibcode=1988IJQE...24..398M}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Strickland|first1=D.|last2=Corkum|first2=P. B.|url= https://www.osapublishing.org/josab/fulltext.cfm?uri=josab-11-3-492&id=7305 |title=Resistance of short pulses to self-focusing|journal=Journal of the Optical Society of America B|volume=11|issue=3|year=1994|pages=492–497|doi=10.1364/JOSAB.11.000492|bibcode=1994JOSAB..11..492S|s2cid=122336320 |url-access=subscription}}

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