I had the honor of sitting down with Dr. Donna Strickland, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and only the third woman in history to receive the prestigious award in physics. In our conversation, we discuss her groundbreaking work in laser physics and the journey that led her there. From her early academic interests to the moment she received the life-changing call from the Royal Swedish Academcy at 5AM (?!), Donna shares insights into her discovery of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), a revolutionary technique that changed the field of high-intensity lasers.

We discuss the science behind CPA and the moment she accidentally broke the fiber optic cable required for her PhD research. Donna reflects on the role of perseverance, collaboration, and the underestimated metric of "luck” in scientific discovery.