Experimental physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Prof. Ferenc Krausz, has been named the Person of the Year 2023 by the public media and was the subject of an extensive interview on news channel M5.
Prof. Krausz, who shared the 2023 Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with two French scientists, Pierre Agostini and Anne L’Huillier, received the award for his groundbreaking experimental methods in producing attosecond light pulses to study electron movement within atoms, reminisced about his early fascination with physics during primary school and his subsequent involvement in a mathematics club while attending high school in Székesfehérvár (central Hungary).
He credited his parents, both manual laborers, for providing unwavering support to him and his brother.
Reflecting on his academic journey, Ferenc Krausz acknowledged the invaluable mentorship he received from Károly Simonyi at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and György Marx at ELTE (Eötvös Lóránd University) in theoretical physics. His pursuit of laser physics led him to the Vienna University of Technology, where he obtained his doctorate under the guidance of Arnold Schmidt. Their research endeavors culminated in groundbreaking experiments in the early 2000s.
Despite the inherent challenges of scientific research, Prof. Krausz emphasized the importance of perseverance and maintaining sight of one’s overarching goals.
He recounted the pivotal moment in 2001, when at the Vienna University of Technology, they successfully measured an attosecond pulse of light, a groundbreaking achievement in laser physics.
In subsequent years, Krausz assumed leadership roles at prestigious institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany and the Department of Experimental Physics at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.
His contributions to the field earned him awards such as the Wittgenstein Prize in 2002, and the Wolf Prize in 2022.
Reflecting on the Nobel Prize ceremony, he described the initial shock followed by a sense of determination to navigate the newfound recognition. In 2019, he spearheaded the establishment of a Molecular Fingerprint Research Center in Hungary, aiming to revolutionize medical diagnostics with advanced testing methods.
In addition to his scientific pursuits, Krausz and his colleagues initiated efforts to support victims of the war in Ukraine, particularly focusing on providing aid to schools and children impacted by the conflict.
