Paul Corkum

Paul Bruce Corkum

Paul Corkum was born in Saint John, New Brunswick.^[2] He obtained his BSc (1965) from Acadia University, Nova Scotia, and his MSc (1967) and PhD (1972) in theoretical physics from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania.^[2][3] He won several awards for his work on laser science.

In the 1980s he developed a model of the ionization of atoms (i.e. plasma production) and on this basis proposed a new approach to making X-ray lasers, under the name of optical field ionization (OFI). The OFI lasers are today one of the most important developments in X-ray laser research.

In the early 1990s in strong field atomic physics there were discoveries of high harmonic generation and correlated double ionization (in which an atom can absorb hundreds of photons and emit two electrons). Corkum's recollision electron model^[4] served as the basis for the generation of attosecond pulses from lasers. With this method in 2001 Corkum with colleagues in Vienna succeeded in demonstrating for the first time laser pulse lengths lasting less than 1 femtosecond.^[5] The method was used for the generation of higher harmonics and (as a type of laser tunneling microscope) for exploration of atoms and molecules in the angstrom range and below.

Corkum's recollision electron physics has led to many advances in understanding the interactions among coherent electrons, coherent light, and coherent atoms or molecules. The recollision electron can be thought of as an electron interferometer built by laser light generated from atoms or molecules. As an interferometer, the recollision electron can be used to measure atomic and molecular orbitals by means of interfering waves from the bound electrons and the recollision electrons.

From 1997 to 2009, he was the adjunct professor of physics at McMaster University.

In 2018, Corkum was the first Canadian to be awarded the

• 1996 Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics (Canadian Association of Physicists)^[2][3]
• 1999 Einstein Award (Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics)^[3]
• 2003
  Tory Medal (Royal Society of Canada)^[2][3]
• 2003 Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal^[3]
• 2005 Fellow of the Royal Society^{[citation needed]}
• 2005
  Quantum Electronics Award (IEEE)^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 2005
  Optical Society of America)^[2][3]
• 2006
  Canada Council for the Arts)^[2]
• 2006 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science (American Physical Society)^[2][3]
• 2008
  NSERC)^[8]
• 2009
  NSERC)^[1][9]
• 2013
  King Faisal International Prize for Physics (King Faisal Foundation).^[10]
• 2013 Royal Photographic Society Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship awarded in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense^[11]
• 2013 Harvey Prize^{[citation needed]}
• 2015 Lomonosov Gold Medal^{[citation needed]}
• 2015 selected Clarivate Citation laureate in Physics with Ferenc Krausz "for contributions to the development of attosecond physics."^[12]
• 2017 Royal Medal^[13]
• 2018
  Institute of Physics Isaac Newton Medal^[7]
• 2018 SPIE Gold Medal^{[citation needed]}
• 2019 The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics^[14]
• 2022 Wolf Prize in Physics^[15]
• 2022 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences^[16]

Membership

• Femtosecond Science Group at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (Founder)^[3]
• NRC Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science Group (Program Leader)^[2]
• Order of Canada (Officer).^[3]
• Order of Ontario^[17]
• Royal Society of London (Member)^[2][3]
• Royal Society of Canada (Member)^[2][3]
• US National Academy of Sciences (Member)^[18]

• Corkum PB (1993). "Plasma perspective on strong field multiphoton ionization". Physical Review Letters. 71 (13): 1994–1997.
  S2CID 29947935
  .
• with N. H. Burnett, M. Y. Ivanov: Corkum, P. B.; Burnett, N. H.; Ivanov, M. Y. (1994). "Subfemtosecond pulses". Optics Letters. 19 (22): 1870–1872.
  PMID 19855681
  .
• with H. Niikura, F. Legaré, R. Hasbani, M. Ivanov, D. Villeneuve: Niikura H, Légaré F, Hasbani R, Ivanov MY, Villeneuve DM, Corkum PB (2003). "Probing molecular dynamics with attosecond resolution using correlated wave packet pairs".
  S2CID 4318208
  .
• with Ferenc Krausz: Corkum, P. B.; Krausz, Ferenc (2007). "Attosecond Science".
  doi:10.1038/nphys620
  .
• with Chandrasekhar Joshi: Joshi, Chandrashekhar J.; Corkum, Paul (January 1995). "Interaction of ultra-intense laser light with matter" (PDF). Physics Today. 48 (1): 36.
  doi:10.1063/1.881451. Archived from the original
  (PDF) on 2014-02-25.
• with
  S2CID 122336320
  .