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| Paul Corkum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Paul Corkum |
| Birth date | 1943 |
| Birth place | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Ottawa, National Research Council (Canada), University of Rochester, University of Calgary, Imperial College London |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario |
| Known for | High-harmonic generation, attosecond physics, three-step model |
| Awards | Wolf Prize in Physics, Buckley Prize, Killam Prize, Order of Canada |
Paul Corkum is a Canadian physicist noted for foundational work in strong-field laser physics, high-harmonic generation, and attosecond science. His theoretical and experimental contributions have influenced research in laser physics, ultrafast optics, atomic physics, and molecular physics, and have impacted laboratories and institutions across North America and Europe. Corkum's career spans appointments at major universities and national laboratories and collaborations with leading figures in optics and quantum mechanics.
Corkum was born in Hamilton, Ontario and pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in Canada, completing degrees at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. During his doctoral work he engaged with topics in atomic spectroscopy and photoionization under supervisors active in Canadian research networks. Early influences included interactions with researchers at the National Research Council (Canada) and visits to laboratories such as the Canadian Light Source and the TRIUMF facility. His formative years connected him to communities around Ottawa, Toronto, and London, Ontario.
Corkum held positions at the National Research Council (Canada) and later took faculty roles at the University of Ottawa and the University of Calgary. He spent significant periods as a visiting scientist at the University of Rochester and collaborated with groups at Imperial College London, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His appointments involved joint affiliations with research centers such as the Institute for Optics and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He also contributed to program development at national funding agencies including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and engaged with international consortia linked to European Research Council grants and National Science Foundation initiatives.
Corkum formulated the widely cited three-step model for high-harmonic generation, connecting concepts from quantum mechanics, strong-field approximation, and semiclassical physics. His model clarified the role of tunnel ionization, acceleration in a laser field, and recollision, influencing experimental programs in attosecond pulse generation and time-resolved spectroscopy. Corkum's work bridged theory and experiment in collaborations with groups led by figures associated with Fritz London Centre, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and ETH Zurich. His research enabled attosecond metrology used to probe electron dynamics in helium, argon, xenon, and molecular hydrogen, and supported developments in coherent extreme ultraviolet sources such as those pursued at FLASH (Free-electron LASER in Hamburg), Linac Coherent Light Source, and European XFEL.
He also contributed to concepts in nonsequential double ionization, rescattering physics, and coherent control, intersecting research themes from laboratories like the Max Born Institute, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Collaborations and citations link his work to experiments using carrier-envelope phase stabilization pioneered at Texas A&M University, high-intensity laser systems at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and pulse characterization techniques developed at University of California, Berkeley. Corkum's influence appears in theoretical frameworks used by research groups at Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Imperial College London, and University of Cambridge.
Corkum received major recognitions including the Wolf Prize in Physics and the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize (Buckley Prize) for contributions to ultrafast science. He is a member of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a recipient of national honors such as the Order of Canada and the Killam Prize. Additional awards include medals and prizes from organizations like the Royal Society of Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Canadian Association of Physicists, and invitations to give named lectures at institutions including Harvard University, Caltech, MIT, University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, Max Planck Society events, and the Nobel Symposium series.
- Corkum, P. B., seminal papers on high-harmonic generation and rescattering published in major journals associated with American Physical Society and Nature Publishing Group. - Key reviews on attosecond physics appearing in collections alongside editors from Springer Nature, Oxford University Press, and proceedings from conferences at SPIE and OSA (Optical Society of America). - Influential theoretical papers cited by researchers at University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill University, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and Riken. - Collaborative experimental reports with groups at Stanford University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Imperial College London, and Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics appearing in journals published by American Institute of Physics and Institute of Physics.
Corkum's mentorship fostered generations of researchers who went on to positions at universities and national laboratories including University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, University of Rochester, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and international centers like Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and Imperial College London. His legacy endures through conceptual frameworks used routinely in attosecond laboratories at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, EPFL, Delft University of Technology, University of Helsinki, and Seoul National University. He remains a central figure cited in discourse spanning Nobel-related histories, contemporary textbooks produced by Cambridge University Press and Springer, and review symposia organized by Royal Society and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Category:Canadian physicists Category:Living people Category:Attosecond physics