English translation of the original Chinese article. Publication dates and the extent of recovered text are preserved. Figures retain their original labels. Read the Chinese original.
PhDSciNet team
Something big has just happened in academia: the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded! As a UWaterloo student, I woke up this morning and became instantly wide awake when I saw that Professor Donna Strickland from our physics department had won!
First, let us take a look at the professor herself!
Figure 1: A portrait of Professor Donna Strickland
https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/people-profiles/donna-strickland (profile)
https://uwaterloo.ca/ultrafast-laser-group/ (research group website)
Figure 2: The university held a press conference to celebrate Donna’s Nobel Prize. Professor Donna Strickland is on the left, and President Feridun Hamdullahpur is on the right.
Doesn’t she look warm and approachable? Yet Donna’s website contains far less information than most professors’ sites, and Wikipedia gives only a brief account of her career. How could that satisfy our curiosity—or our appetite for a little gossip? No problem! A few members of our PhDSciNet team have worked, or currently work, in Donna’s group. Today, we have invited several talented young researchers to tell us about all sides of the distinguished Donna, including a few exclusive inside stories.
First, we spoke with 苏鑫杨, who is currently studying in her group.
PhDSciNet: Please begin by briefly introducing yourself.
苏鑫杨: Hello, everyone. My name is 苏鑫杨. I am a jointly trained PhD student at Beijing Jiaotong University and the University of Waterloo, co-supervised by Professor 郑义 and Professor Donna Strickland. My current research mainly concerns generating mid-infrared laser sources using dual-wavelength chirped-pulse amplification systems.
PhDSciNet: What is your relationship with Donna?
苏鑫杨: I joined the group on September 17, 2016, and have been there ever since, mainly carrying out various research tasks under Professor Donna’s supervision.
Figure 3: A corner of Donna’s laboratory (image provided by 段博佳)
PhDSciNet: After spending so much time in the group, what is your impression of Donna?
苏鑫杨: First, Donna speaks very quickly. Many international students cannot keep up when they first arrive and need her to repeat things several times. Even some who have been here for quite a while sometimes need her to repeat what she just said. Second, she is very easygoing. When someone in the group gives a presentation, she sometimes listens with her legs resting on the table. She laughs a lot. She also hardly uses a mobile phone, so if we do not meet in person, we communicate by email. When she comes into the lab, she sometimes likes to lend a hand, though it does not always help: occasionally she loses the optical alignment you have adjusted, says “uh-oh,” and apologizes. She has lots of ideas, but if you disagree with her, she also respects your opinion.
Figure 4: Professor Donna Strickland is in the center; her colleague Professor Joseph Sanderson is on the right (image provided by 苏鑫杨).
PhDSciNet: What kind of supervisor do you feel Donna is?
苏鑫杨: Researchers will probably be interested in papers. She prefers students to write the first draft themselves, then points out what is not good and has them revise it. Like most supervisors, she goes through several rounds of revision before a paper can finally be submitted. Group meetings are also very flexible. The group usually has around four people, and we see our supervisor all the time, so meetings are not held on a fixed schedule; we simply have one when it comes to mind. Anyone with an idea can go directly to her to discuss it. If a group member is about to leave, she asks them to summarize their work and give everyone a formal presentation. We also have group meals from time to time. She is very good at keeping the conversation going, and can talk at length about her travels, conferences, her wonderful daughter, and so on.
Figure 5: Donna celebrating her award with everyone (image provided by 段博佳)
PhDSciNet: What is one thing—or several things—about Donna that has left the deepest impression on you?
苏鑫杨: Donna takes laboratory safety very seriously. If anyone dares to enter the lab without protective goggles while the laser is on, she will be very upset and will insist that they go out, put on goggles, and then come back in.
Figure 6: A corner of Donna’s laboratory (image provided by 苏鑫杨)
Figure 7: A corner of Donna’s laboratory (image provided by 苏鑫杨)
PhDSciNet: Could you briefly describe Donna’s current research directions?
苏鑫杨: There are currently two main directions. One applies dual-wavelength chirped-pulse amplifiers to mid-infrared generation; the other concerns multifrequency Raman generation. The first project mainly uses difference-frequency generation in nonlinear optics to produce mid-infrared laser sources at 16–20 micrometers. The second uses the Raman effect to generate a series of equally spaced Raman spectral lines, covering the entire wavelength range from infrared to ultraviolet.
PhDSciNet: After Donna won the prize, did you call or email to congratulate her?
苏鑫杨: A few of us students went straight to her house to congratulate her in person. I had, of course, already sent a congratulatory email. She did not reply because, she said, 300 emails had flooded her system, so she probably could not see mine. When we arrived at her house, she was very excited and invited us in to chat. She said she was thrilled and initially could not believe it. A call came in about every three minutes, and the BBC interviewed her four times that day. We therefore did not stay long before leaving.
Figure 8: Professor Donna having a friendly conversation with students (image provided by 苏鑫杨)
The brief interview is over, but everyone is still immersed in the joy of celebration. Today I truly feel proud from the bottom of my heart—even if it has nothing much to do with me! As the saying goes, today I am proud of my university, and tomorrow… well… tomorrow I will still be proud of my university!
Later, we will invite former PhD student 许祖俊, as well as 严浩 and 卞思远, who also previously studied in Donna’s group, for interviews and provide some science explanations related to their work.
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