A researcher in Boulder has won one of Ireland’s top science prizes.
Margaret Murnane, a pioneer in ultrafast laser and X-ray science, has become the 38th scientist — and only the second woman — to win the prestigious RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence.
The prize, established in 1899, is awarded every other year, alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist workig outside that country. The award carries a prize of 20,000 Euros, or about $28,000.
Murnane’s work has focused on the development of lasers, and she designed the first laser that pulses so quickly that it allows time to almost be stopped to capture a freeze-frame view.
Murnane, who was born in Limerick and earned physics degrees at the University College Cork, credited the strong education she got in Ireland with instilling in her a love of learning.
Karen Augé: 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com
