Pierre Agostini

Pierre Agostini is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at The Ohio State University. Born on July 23, 1941, in Tunis, French protectorate of Tunisia, he received his early education at Collège Alaoui and Lycée Carnot in Tunis before attending Prytanée Militaire La Flèche, where he earned his Baccalauréat Mathématiques Elémentaires in 1959. He then studied at Université Aix-Marseille, obtaining his Licence d'Enseignement en Physique in 1961, Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies in 1962, and Doctorat d'Université in 1968 under Professor Henri Chantrel, with a thesis on thin films for UV mirrors. Agostini began his research career at CEA Saclay in 1969, working on multiphoton ionization until 2002. He served as a visiting scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory from 2002 to 2004. In 2005, he joined The Ohio State University as Professor of Physics, collaborating closely with Louis F. DiMauro, and became emeritus in 2018. His laboratory features state-of-the-art ultrafast laser systems for experiments in attosecond and strong-field physics, extending to facilities like the Linac Coherent Light Source.

Agostini's research focuses on laser-matter interactions, high-harmonic generation, multiphoton processes, electron correlation, and attosecond science. Pioneering discoveries include above-threshold ionization, reported in "Free-Free Transitions Following Six-Photon Ionization of Xenon Atoms" (Physical Review Letters, 1979), and the first train of attosecond pulses via the RABBITT technique, detailed in "Observation of a Train of Attosecond Pulses from High Harmonic Generation" (Science, 2001). He also co-authored "The Physics of Attosecond Light Pulses" (Reports on Progress in Physics, 2004). These advancements enabled the study of electron dynamics on attosecond timescales, earning him the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Anne L'Huillier and Ferenc Krausz, for experimental methods generating attosecond pulses of light. Other honors include the William F. Meggers Award from the Optical Society of America (2007), election to the National Academy of Inventors (2024 class), and the establishment of the Pierre Agostini Prize at The Ohio State University. His work has revolutionized ultrafast science, with impacts on electronics, medical diagnostics, and quantum technologies.

Professional Email: agostini.4@osu.edu