WASHINGTON — Optica , Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, has named Margaret M. Murnane an Optica Honorary Member , the most distinguished of all Optica Member categories. Murnane is recognized for pioneering advances in ultrafast laser technology and XUV science, as well as exceptional service to the optics community through sustained mentorship and leadership. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, USA.
“Margaret is a global leader in ultrafast, high-intensity laser research, but her impact extends far beyond the lab through her mentorship, volunteerism and innovative work with KMLabs,” said Gisele Bennett, Optica's 2026 President. “It is with great pleasure that I welcome her into the esteemed group of Optica Honorary Members."
Murnane received her BS and MS degrees from University College Cork, Ireland, and her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She has been on the faculty of Washington State University and the University of Michigan. She is now a Fellow at JILA and a member of the Department of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Colorado. She runs a trans-disciplinary research group with Henry Kapteyn. She and Kapteyn also co-founded KMLabs, the first laser company to commercially offer 10fs Ti:sapphire lasers as well as coherent high-harmonic systems.
She has been an international leader in the field of ultrafast optical and x-ray science for over 25 years, pioneering the development of ultrashort-pulse femtosecond lasers, the development of methods for efficiently generating soft x-ray high-harmonics and the use of these x-rays to probe the attosecond time-scale response of atoms, molecules and surfaces. Her influential work has been cited more than 13,750 times.
She has served Optica in numerous roles, including editorial positions ( Optics Letters ), program committees (CLEO, FiO, Ultrafast Phenomena), the Optica Board of Directors, Strategic Planning Council, Topical Meeting RAC, Joint Council on Quantum Electronics and the Selection Committees for multiple awards.
Murnane is a Fellow of Optica, the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Association for Women in Science. Her many awards and honors include the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award of the American Physical Society, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics and Optica’s R. W. Wood Prize . She is a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and is the first woman to receive Optica’s highest honor, the Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize .
Honorary Membership is the most distinguished of all Optica Member categories. It is awarded by a unanimous vote of the Optica Board of Directors to individuals who have made seminal contributions to the field of optics. Their number is limited to two-thousandths (2/1000) of the total membership of the Society.
About Optica
Optica , Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, is the Society dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students and others interested in the science of light. Optica's renowned publications, meetings, online resources and in-person activities fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate scientific, technical and educational achievement. Discover more at: Optica.org
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