Gérard Albert Mourou is a distinguished French physicist renowned for his revolutionary contributions to laser technology. Born on June 22, 1944, in Albertville, France, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Grenoble before completing his MSc and PhD at the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie in Paris in 1973. Following his doctoral studies, he established himself as a leading researcher through positions at the University of Rochester, where he conducted his Nobel Prize-winning work, and later as a professor at the University of Michigan and École Polytechnique in Paris. Mourou served as the founding Director of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan, where he built a world-class research program that has shaped the field for decades.
Mourou's most groundbreaking contribution, developed with his doctoral student Donna Strickland in 1985, is the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique, which solved the fundamental problem of amplifying ultrashort laser pulses without destroying the amplifying material. This ingenious method first stretches laser pulses in time to reduce their peak power, then amplifies them, and finally compresses them, resulting in dramatically increased pulse intensity. CPA technology has enabled the creation of ultra-high intensity laser pulses reaching petawatt levels, revolutionizing numerous scientific and medical applications including precision laser eye surgery that has benefited millions of patients worldwide. His additional discovery in 1994 of atmospheric 'filaments' that act as waveguides for high-intensity laser beams further expanded the potential applications of ultrafast laser technology in fields ranging from materials processing to atmospheric sensing.
As a visionary leader in ultrafast laser science, Mourou has received numerous prestigious honors including the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, the National Legion of Honor from France, and membership in the National Academy of Engineering. He has been instrumental in establishing major international research initiatives, most notably as the initiator of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project, the world's largest laser research infrastructure spanning multiple European countries. Mourou's influence extends beyond his own research through his mentorship of generations of scientists and his development of practical applications that have transformed medical procedures and industrial processes. Currently serving as A. D. Moore Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan and maintaining affiliations with École Polytechnique, he continues to inspire innovation in laser physics and advocate for ambitious scientific projects that push the boundaries of what's possible with light-matter interactions.
