French and German scientists receive Nobel honours
Two European scientists are celebrating after learning that their names will go down in history as winners of the 2005 Physics and Chemistry Nobel Prizes. Professor Theodor Hänsch is Director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and professor of physics at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. He shares the physics prize with US scientists John Hall and Roy Glauber, and is recognised for his contribution to 'the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique'. Professor Hänsch has participated in EU funded projects. Congratulating him on the prize, EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik paid tribute to this contribution that Professor Hänsch is making to the recognition of German and European science as a source of excellence. Professor Hänsch developed the 'Doppler-free spectroscopic methods', making it possible to measure frequencies with an accuracy that was previously unimaginable. He was also at the forefront in the field of cooling and storing atoms, using diffraction grids as a new technology. The constant need to develop ever more sophisticated laser technology culminated in his work on optical frequency combs. This produced a fundamentally new quantum technology, which in future will advance measurement accuracy still further. The 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is to be shared by Professor Yves Chauvin of the Institut Français du Pétrole in France, Professor Robert Grubbs of the California Institute of Technology in the US and Professor Richard Schrock of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in the US. All three are awarded the prize for their work on the organic reaction olefin metathesis. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences claims that the three have 'made metathesis into one of organic chemistry's most important reactions. This has made it possible to produce new molecules, for example in pharmaceuticals. Congratulating Professor Chauvin, Mr Potocnik recognised the years of hard work that lie behind such an award, and expressed his wish that young scientists will be inspired by the achievements of the Nobel Laureate.
Countries
Germany, France