Physics graduate Professor Margaret Murnane wins Isaac Newton Medal and Prize

28 Oct 2022

Congratulations to UCC Physics graduate Professor Margaret Murnane on winning the 2022 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize, awarded by the Institute of Physics.

Professor Murnane is a world-leading researcher in laser science and technology, based at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was honoured for her "pioneering and sustained contributions to the development of ultrafast lasers and coherent X-ray sources and the use of such sources to understand the quantum nature of materials”. The Isaac Newton Medal and Prize is awarded annually for “world-leading contributions to physics”.

Professor Murnane is a global leader in her field and one of the most acclaimed research-active physicists in the United States. She is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Fellow of JILA – a joint institute of the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Among many other high-level honours, she is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Women in Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

She was awarded the St Patrick’s Day Science Medal by Science Foundation Ireland in 2018 for her significant contributions to research and innovation and in recognition of her role in supporting Ireland’s research community.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland, with an active role in promoting co-operation in physics around the world. The Institute strives to make physics accessible to people from all backgrounds.