Ferenc Krausz

Ferenc Krausz
Krausz in 2010
Ferenc Krausz
Born	17 5, 1962
Birthplace	Mór, Hungarian People's Republic
Nationality	Hungarian, Austrian
Occupation	Physicist, academic
Employer	University of Hong Kong Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Known for	First attosecond light source, attosecond physics
Education	Vienna University of Technology (PhD, 1991) Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Awards	Wolf Prize in Physics (2022) BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2022) Nobel Prize in Physics (2023)
Website	[https://attoworld.de/ Official site]

Ferenc Krausz (born 17 May 1962) is a Hungarian physicist whose work in attosecond science has fundamentally expanded the capacity of experimental physics to observe and measure ultrafast processes at the atomic scale. Born in the town of Mór in the Hungarian People's Republic, Krausz pursued studies in physics and electrical engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics before completing his doctoral research at the Vienna University of Technology. His research team achieved a landmark in physics by generating and measuring the first attosecond light pulse—a burst of light lasting less than one quintillionth of a second—and using it to capture the motion of electrons inside atoms, an achievement that marked the founding of the field of attophysics. For this work, Krausz was jointly awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics alongside Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier. He served as a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and held a professorship of experimental physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Since November 2025, Krausz has held the position of Chair Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong.

Early Life

Ferenc Krausz was born on 17 May 1962 in Mór, a town in Fejér County in western Hungary, then part of the Hungarian People's Republic. He grew up in Hungary during the communist era and developed an early interest in the physical sciences. Little has been publicly documented about his immediate family background or childhood beyond his origins in Mór. His path into physics began at Hungarian educational institutions before he moved to Austria to pursue advanced study and research.

Krausz belongs to the Hungarian scientific diaspora that has contributed to research institutions across Central Europe. His trajectory from a small Hungarian town to the forefront of international physics is representative of a generation of Hungarian scientists who pursued opportunities across European borders following the political changes of the late twentieth century.

Education

Krausz received his undergraduate education at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, one of Hungary's principal institutions for science and engineering education. He studied both physics and electrical engineering during his time in Budapest, gaining a foundational grounding in both theoretical and applied physics.

For his doctoral studies, Krausz moved to Vienna, Austria, enrolling at the Vienna University of Technology (Technische Universität Wien). He completed his doctoral dissertation in 1991, titled Erzeugung ultrakurzer Lichtimpulse in Neodymium-Glaslasern (Generation of Ultrashort Light Pulses in Neodymium Glass Lasers), a work focused on the production of ultrashort laser pulses—a topic that would prove foundational to his later groundbreaking research in attosecond physics. His doctoral research at Vienna established the technical expertise in ultrafast laser technology that would underpin his subsequent career. After completing his PhD, Krausz continued to develop his research program in Austria before eventually being recruited to Germany's Max Planck Society.

Career

Early Research and the Vienna Period

Following the completion of his doctorate in 1991, Krausz remained based in Vienna for a significant portion of his early career. At the Vienna University of Technology, he pursued research into the generation and characterization of ultrashort laser pulses. During the 1990s, the field of ultrafast optics was progressing rapidly, with researchers worldwide seeking to produce ever shorter pulses of light to probe physical and chemical processes at smaller and smaller timescales. Krausz's expertise in neodymium glass lasers and mode-locking techniques positioned him at the forefront of efforts to push the boundaries of ultrafast laser technology into previously inaccessible temporal regimes.

The central challenge of this period was to break through the femtosecond (10⁻¹⁵ seconds) barrier and produce pulses on the attosecond (10⁻¹⁸ seconds) timescale. Attosecond pulses would, in principle, allow physicists to observe the dynamics of electrons within atoms and molecules—processes that unfold too rapidly to be captured by femtosecond laser techniques. Krausz and his collaborators worked intensively on the physics of high harmonic generation, a nonlinear optical process in which an intense laser pulse interacting with a gas medium produces coherent radiation at much shorter wavelengths and, critically, much shorter pulse durations than the driving laser field.

Generation of the First Attosecond Light Pulse

In 2001, Krausz and his research team achieved a result that would come to define his scientific legacy: the generation and measurement of the first isolated attosecond light pulse. Using high harmonic generation driven by few-cycle laser pulses, the team produced an extreme ultraviolet pulse lasting approximately 650 attoseconds—less than one quadrillionth of a second. This achievement was not merely a technical record; it represented the opening of an entirely new domain of experimental physics.

The ability to produce attosecond pulses meant that, for the first time, scientists could take "snapshots" of electronic motion inside atoms and molecules in real time. Previous methods could resolve nuclear motion (which occurs on the femtosecond timescale), but the faster motion of electrons had remained beyond direct experimental observation. With attosecond pulses, Krausz and his colleagues demonstrated that it was possible to track the rearrangement of electrons during chemical bonding, ionization, and other fundamental processes. This accomplishment is widely credited as the birth of attophysics—the study of physical processes on attosecond timescales.

Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

Krausz was appointed as a director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching bei München, Germany, and simultaneously became a professor of experimental physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). At the MPQ, he led the Attosecond Physics Division, establishing one of the world's leading laboratories for ultrafast science. Under his direction, the group continued to advance the capabilities of attosecond technology, producing progressively shorter pulses and developing new techniques for using them to probe matter.

The research program at MPQ encompassed a wide range of investigations, from fundamental studies of electron dynamics in atoms and condensed matter to the development of novel laser sources and measurement techniques. Krausz's group made contributions to the understanding of tunneling ionization, electron-electron correlations, and charge migration in molecules. The group's work drew on collaborations with chemists, biologists, and engineers, reflecting the inherently interdisciplinary nature of attosecond science.

Krausz served as a co-founder and leading figure in the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics (MAP), a collaborative research initiative linking institutions across Munich in the study of light-matter interactions. Through MAP and other initiatives, he helped to build an ecosystem of photonics research in the Munich area.

His laboratory at the MPQ operated under the name "attoworld," reflecting the overarching mission of the group to explore and exploit the attosecond domain.

Applications in Medical Diagnostics

In more recent years, Krausz has directed increasing attention toward the application of ultrashort laser pulse technology to medical diagnostics. His research has explored the use of infrared laser spectroscopy and related techniques for the analysis of biological samples, particularly blood, with the goal of detecting disease markers at early stages. This work represents a translation of fundamental attosecond and ultrafast laser science into a domain with potential direct impact on public health.

In a 2025 interview with Physics World, Krausz discussed how ultrashort laser pulses could help detect disease, describing ongoing research into the use of infrared spectroscopy of blood plasma as a tool for early diagnosis of conditions including cancer. This line of research aims to develop affordable, non-invasive screening methods that could be broadly deployed in clinical settings.

In November 2025, upon joining the University of Hong Kong, Krausz delivered an inaugural lecture titled "Toward Affordable Preventive Healthcare: Basic Science Addresses Grand Challenges," in which he outlined his vision for using physics-based technologies in preventive medicine. The lecture charted a new era in the application of fundamental physics research to healthcare challenges.

Move to the University of Hong Kong

In October 2025, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) announced that Krausz would join the university as Chair Professor in the Department of Physics under the Faculty of Science. The appointment, effective from November 2025, marked a significant new chapter in Krausz's career and represented a notable addition to HKU's research profile in the physical sciences. At HKU, Krausz has indicated that he intends to continue his dual focus on fundamental attosecond science and its applications in medical diagnostics and preventive healthcare.

Advocacy for Scientific Freedom

Krausz has also been active in advocacy for academic freedom and the protection of scientific independence. In early March 2025, Krausz and fellow Nobel laureate Serge Haroche (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2012) undertook a joint initiative described as "emotional and impactful" by the Max Planck Society, focused on promoting freedom and research. Details of this engagement highlight Krausz's commitment to the broader social and political conditions necessary for scientific progress.

Talent Development in Hungary

Krausz has maintained connections to his country of origin. In 2025, a new talent management program called "Élvonal" ("Forefront") was announced under his leadership. The initiative, designed to identify and develop scientific talent in Hungary, reflects Krausz's interest in fostering the next generation of researchers in his homeland.

Recognition

Ferenc Krausz has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career in recognition of his contributions to physics and attosecond science.

In 2019, Krausz received the inaugural Vladilen Letokhov Medal from the European Physical Society, awarded for outstanding contributions to laser physics and quantum electronics.

In 2022, Krausz was awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics, one of the most prestigious international awards in the physical sciences. That same year, he received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category, shared with Anne L'Huillier and Paul Corkum, for their development of attosecond laser pulses.

The Royal Photographic Society awarded Krausz its Progress Medal, an honor recognizing significant advances in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in its widest sense.

Krausz is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

The crowning recognition of Krausz's career came in 2023, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier, "for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter." The Nobel Committee's citation emphasized the transformative nature of the laureates' contributions, which gave humanity new tools to explore the world of electrons within atoms and molecules.

A documentary film about Krausz, titled Ferenc Krausz – In Pursuit of Electrons (also referred to as Ferenc Krausz – Capturing the Electrons), was produced and screened at international film festivals. In October 2025, the film won the Best Documentary award at a festival in Kraków, Poland.

Legacy

Ferenc Krausz's principal scientific legacy rests on the establishment of attosecond physics as a distinct and productive field of research. Prior to the work of Krausz and his contemporaries, the motion of electrons within atoms and molecules could be inferred from theory and indirect measurements, but could not be directly observed in real time. By generating the first isolated attosecond light pulse in 2001, Krausz and his team provided physicists with a tool of unprecedented temporal resolution, enabling the direct measurement of electronic dynamics on their natural timescale.

The impact of attosecond science has extended well beyond the original domain of atomic physics. Techniques developed by Krausz and his collaborators have been adopted and adapted by researchers in molecular physics, surface science, condensed matter physics, and chemistry. Attosecond spectroscopy has enabled new insights into phenomena such as charge migration in molecules, the dynamics of photoionization, and the behavior of electrons in solid-state materials. The field continues to grow, with new attosecond laboratories established at research institutions around the world.

Krausz's more recent efforts to apply ultrafast laser spectroscopy to medical diagnostics represent a further dimension of his legacy. His research into the use of infrared spectroscopy for the early detection of disease has the potential to translate fundamental physics into clinical tools, bridging the gap between basic science and public health.

Through his teaching, mentorship, and institutional leadership at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, LMU Munich, and the University of Hong Kong, Krausz has trained and influenced a generation of physicists who continue to advance the frontiers of ultrafast science. His establishment of the "Élvonal" talent program in Hungary further reflects his commitment to nurturing future scientific talent.