A Nobel prize winner at the University of Bordeaux (2019)

Donna Strickland, 2018 Nobel prize winner in Physics, was present on the Bordeaux campus for a two-day meeting in March 2019 to review European networks in the field of advanced materials.

Organized by the University of Bordeaux and the European Multifunctional Materials Institute (EMMI), this meeting celebrated the 15^th anniversary of the FAME (Functionalized Advanced Materials Engineering )-EMMI Master. It was an opportunity to review the European networks established by the University of Bordeaux, especially European projects such as IDS-FunMat (Erasmus Mundus) and ITN-EJD-FunMat (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions) which combine teaching and research in the field of advanced materials.

Attended by over 100 people, mainly alumni (Master’s and PhD), and their lecturer-researchers, the meeting highlighted the positive impact of international courses on careers and debated on how to improve training programs in terms of teaching and content. It was also an opportunity to share visions of how to build the future of an innovative and prosperous society, through interactive discussions.

During the meeting, plenary lectures were given to present the impact of new technologies on the development of our society, by underlining ethical issues, thanks to special guest Donna Strickland, professor at the University of Waterloo (Canada) and winner of the 2018 Nobel prize in physics, alongside France’s Gérard Mourou and American Arthur Ashkin, for their work on the physics of lasers and their applications.

During her visit to Bordeaux, Prof. Strickland also gave a lecture on the 21 March on Generating High-Intensity, Ultrashort Optical Pulses.