After yesterday's awarding of Katalin Karikó, yet another Hungarian scientist received the Nobel Prize! Ferenc Krausz shared the Prize in Physics with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier for "experimental methods for generating attosecond light pulses to study electron dynamics in matter." Following the recognition of Imre Kertész in 2002, the number of Hungarian/Hungarian-born Nobel laureates increased by two within two days, bringing the total to 17.

Three physicists showed how to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes of electron movement or energy changes. The scientific contributions of the winners made it possible to study fast processes that were previously impossible to track. This has potential applications in many different areas.

Ferenc Krausz (Mór, May 17, 1962 –) Hungarian-born physicist living in Germany, external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Ferenc Krausz's research group was the first to produce and measure an attosecond pulse of light and use it to map the movement of electrons in an atom, creating the science of attophysics. In 2022, he and two other researchers received the Wolf Prize in Physics for their pioneering work in ultrafast lasers and attosecond physics.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced tomorrow – let’s just say, two is company, three is a crowd!