Paul Corkum facts for kids

Paul Bruce Corkum OC OOnt FRSC FRS (born October 30, 1943) is a Canadian physicist. He is a world leader in attosecond physics and laser science. Attosecond physics studies events that happen in incredibly short bursts of time. An attosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second!

Dr. Corkum holds a special position at the University of Ottawa and the NRC. He also teaches at Texas A&M University and the University of New Mexico. He is unique because he both creates new ideas (as a theorist) and performs experiments to test them. He is most famous for developing the main ideas behind attosecond physics.

Discovering Attosecond Physics

Paul Corkum was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. He earned his first science degree from Acadia University in 1965. Later, he received his master's and PhD degrees in theoretical physics from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He has won many awards for his important work with lasers.

Creating X-ray Lasers

In the 1980s, Dr. Corkum developed a new way to understand how atoms lose electrons. This process is called "ionization." When many atoms ionize, they form a gas called "plasma." Based on this understanding, he suggested a new method for making X-ray lasers. This method is known as optical field ionization (OFI). Today, OFI lasers are very important in X-ray laser research.

The Recollision Electron Model

In the early 1990s, scientists made exciting discoveries in atomic physics. They found that atoms could absorb many light particles (photons) and release two electrons. Dr. Corkum's "recollision electron model" helped explain these events. This model became the foundation for creating attosecond light pulses from lasers.

In 2001, Dr. Corkum and his team in Vienna used this method. They successfully created laser pulses that lasted less than one femtosecond. A femtosecond is still incredibly fast, but an attosecond is even faster! This breakthrough allowed scientists to study atoms and molecules in tiny detail. It was like using a super-fast camera to see things that move too quickly to observe before.

Understanding Electron Behavior

Dr. Corkum's recollision electron physics has greatly improved our understanding. It shows how electrons, light, and atoms or molecules interact. Imagine the recollision electron as a tiny measuring tool built by laser light. This tool can help scientists map out the paths of electrons inside atoms and molecules. It does this by looking at how waves from bound electrons and recolliding electrons interfere with each other.

From 1997 to 2009, he was also a professor at McMaster University.

Major Recognition and Awards

In 2018, Dr. Corkum became the first Canadian to receive the Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal. This award recognized his amazing contributions to experimental physics. It also honored his pioneering work in attosecond science. His work led to the first-ever image of a molecular orbital. He also created the first space-time image of an attosecond pulse. Attosecond techniques are like freezing time. They allow scientists to watch electrons move within atoms and molecules. They can even observe how chemical reactions happen at their most basic level.

Honors and Awards

Paul Corkum has received many prestigious awards for his groundbreaking work.

• 1996 Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics
• 1999 Einstein Award
• 2003 Tory Medal
• 2003 Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• 2005 Fellow of the Royal Society
• 2005 Quantum Electronics Award
• 2005 Charles Hard Townes Award
• 2006 Killam Prize
• 2006 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science
• 2008 John C. Polanyi Award
• 2009 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
• 2010 Fellow of The Optical Society
• 2013 King Faisal International Prize for Physics
• 2013 Royal Photographic Society Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship
• 2013 Harvey Prize
• 2014 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize
• 2015 Lomonosov Gold Medal
• 2015 Clarivate Citation laureate in Physics (with Ferenc Krausz)
• 2017 Royal Medal
• 2018 Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal
• 2018 SPIE Gold Medal
• 2019 The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics
• 2022 Wolf Prize in Physics
• 2022 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences
• 2025 APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research

Memberships and Fellowships

Dr. Corkum is also a member of several important scientific groups and societies:

• Founder of the Femtosecond Science Group at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences
• Program Leader for the NRC Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science Group
• Officer of the Order of Canada
• Member of the Order of Ontario
• Member of the Royal Society of London
• Member of the Royal Society of Canada
• Member of the US National Academy of Sciences