Science and Health

A Woman Wins Nobel Prize In Physics For The First Time In 55 Years

Canadian physicist Donna Strickland was jointly awarded the honor with Gérard Mourou.

A Woman Wins Nobel Prize In Physics For The First Time In 55 Years
CNN

For the first time in more than five decades, the Nobel Prize in Physics went to a woman. 

Canadian physicist Donna Strickland was jointly awarded the honor with Gérard Mourou. 

The two developed a technique called chirped pulse amplification. It's the creation of "ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses."

Their technique is used in corrective eye surgeries such as LASIK.

Strickland is only the third woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie Curie received the honor in 1903, and Maria Goeppert Mayer was awarded the prize in 1963.

Strickland says she hopes more women will be recognized in the future, adding, "We need to celebrate women physicists because we're out there."

Arthur Ashkin also won the award for his invention of optical tweezers. The three  will split the more than $1 million in prize money.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.