# Optica Honors Paul Corkum for Pioneering Attosecond Science

The society named the laser researcher to its highest membership category.

By Will Langan | 24X7 News
Published: 2026-10-29T18:11:14.593Z
Updated: 2026-10-29T18:11:14.593Z
Section: Science
Format: News
Canonical: https://24x7news.us/articles/optica-paul-corkum-honorary-member-october-29-2026

Optica announced October 29 that physicist Paul B. Corkum has been named an honorary member, its most distinguished membership category, recognizing his contributions to ultrafast lasers and attosecond science.

Corkum holds appointments at the University of Ottawa and Canada’s National Research Council. He earned his graduate degrees at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and has also held academic appointments at U.S. institutions.

The society highlighted his three-step model of high-harmonic generation, which helped explain how intense laser pulses interact with atoms to produce extremely short flashes of light.

In that process, a laser field removes electrons from atoms and then drives them back toward their original ions. Their return can generate short-wavelength radiation, providing a tool for studying rapid changes in matter.

The honor recognizes an established body of research rather than announcing a new experiment or scientific result.

According to Optica, honorary membership requires a unanimous board vote and is limited to two-thousandths of the society’s total membership. Corkum has also received the society’s Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize and Charles Hard Townes Medal.

Sources:
Optica — October 29 Honorary Membership Announcement via GlobeNewswire: https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-paul-b-corkum-named-optica-honorary-member-/2026/10/29/10472494.htm

## Sources
- Optica — October 29 Honorary Membership Announcement via GlobeNewswire: https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-paul-b-corkum-named-optica-honorary-member-/2026/10/29/10472494.htm