Gerard Mourou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018 along with his former student Donna Strickland. The Nobel Prize was for developing chirped pulse amplification of femtosecond laser intensity. This led to many important applications including the all laser Lasik eye surgery, a new method to reduce space junk by using coherently combined femtosecond pulses in space, astrophysics research, particle generation and acceleration, and many new advances in radiation therapy and other medical applications. Ever since his first professorial position at the University of Rochester, he has had undergrads working for him in his lab. He talks about these early experiences and how amazing these students were. He also talks about the value of the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs such as the one he inspired that sends students to Paris to work on ultrafast optical science - Optics in the City of Light.

You can find the YouTube video here:
https://youtu.be/6hE3zZ3Waeg

You can find out more about the North American Materials Education Symposium this coming summer in Ann Arbor here:
https://java.engin.umich.edu/NAMES24/

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).