photographist

“I like handling fundamental concepts and developing the tools to validate or test them. I do not like to see technology pitted against fundamental physics; for me, they go together. I am currently working on the interaction of nano-objects – atoms, molecules – with short pulse laser light. To sum up, they are flashes of light which last an infinitely brief time, a few femtoseconds. These ultra-brief flashes interact with matter and can be used to observe dynamic phenomena induced by this light. A first light flash induces momentum in the object – the atom, the molecule, the nano-object – and a second flash makes is possible to see how the object's momentum has changed. Not only is it possible to observe this momentum, but by modifying the parameters of these flashes, the way in which the matter will react under their influence can be guided.

I was awarded the Irène Joliot-Curie prize for my work on these lasers, as well as for my involvement in the femtosecond technology network, a CNRS network which brings together the users of these ultra-short lasers and the developers. It unites biologists, chemists and physicists – applied or fundamental –, who all use or design these ultra-short lasers. It was a pleasure to receive this prize; it made me aware of the stereotypes which still surround physics. And yet gender mixing in a team is a massive asset. It also gave me the opportunity to take part in disseminating science to young girls and really raised my awareness of this issue. It is really important to understand from a very young age that nature responds to a certain number of physical laws which we can understand, and that knowing them makes it possible to advance entire segments of science.”

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