Each year since 1978, the Wolf Foundation awards the prestigious Wolf Prize – an international prize given to outstanding scientists and artists from around the world – for “achievements promoting science and art in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples, regardless of race, religion, gender, geographical location or political opinion.” The prize is intended to celebrate leaders and pioneers in science and the arts who have contributed to a better world through their research.
In the sciences, prizes are awarded in the fields of medicine, agriculture, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. In the arts, prizes are awarded in the fields of painting and sculpture, music, and architecture. The winners are selected by international jury committees. This year, eleven winners have been selected from five different countries: the USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Japan.
Ultra-short laser pulses
Anne L’Huillier is a professor of Atomic Physics and a Principal investigator at NanoLund. She is a successful researcher in experimental attosecond physics. In her research, Anne L’Huillier uses laser technology to create ultrashort pulses of light that make it possible to peer into microcosms. The pulses are unimaginably short: an attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second.
With these “camera flashes”, it is possible to study the movement of electrons inside atoms and molecules. Her research group is doing experiments that provide a new basic scientific understanding of the dynamics inside atoms, such as when an atom is ionized.