Dr. Ferenc Krausz is a world-renowned physicist and pioneer in the field of attosecond science who currently serves as Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany and Professor of Experimental Physics at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Born on May 17, 1962 in Mór, Hungary, he pursued dual studies in theoretical physics at Eötvös Loránd University and electrical engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, completing both in 1985. He earned his PhD with distinction in laser physics from the Vienna University of Technology in 1991 and completed his habilitation there in 1993, establishing himself as a leading researcher in ultrafast laser technology. His career trajectory accelerated with appointments as Associate Professor and later Professor of Electrical Engineering at Vienna University of Technology before his pivotal appointment as Director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in 2003.
Dr. Krausz's groundbreaking research fundamentally transformed our ability to observe the quantum world by generating and measuring the first attosecond light pulses, each lasting one billionth of a billionth of a second. His team's achievement in the early 2000s enabled the real-time observation of electron motion within atoms, marking the birth of attophysics and solving what was previously considered impossible in experimental physics. This revolutionary work directly addressed the fundamental challenge that electronic motions - processes that create and maintain life - evolve in hundreds of attoseconds, a time scale previously inaccessible to experimental study. His innovative techniques have since become indispensable tools for investigating atomic and molecular physical processes worldwide, with applications ranging from photoionization studies to the development of quantum computers and superconductors.
Beyond his experimental breakthroughs, Dr. Krausz has been instrumental in establishing attosecond physics as a vibrant global research field with wide-ranging applications across scientific disciplines and medical diagnostics. His methodologies have enabled high-resolution microscopy of living organisms and the development of laser-based techniques for early cancer diagnosis that are more precise and gentle than traditional radiotherapy. As a driving force behind several Pan-European research initiatives including the Extreme Light Infrastructure, he continues to expand the frontiers of ultrafast science into new domains. His current research focuses on the real-time observation and control of atomic-scale electron motion, with profound implications for understanding quantum phenomena and developing next-generation technologies in biomedicine and quantum information science.
