Ursula Keller (physicist)

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Ursula Keller (2019)

Ursula Keller (born June 21, 1959 in Zug ) is a Swiss physicist, inventor and professor at the ETH Zurich . She mainly works in the field of ultrashort pulse laser physics . She invented SESAM (Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror). In 2018 she received the European Inventor Award from the European Patent Office for her life's work.

Live and act

Ursula Keller received her diploma in physics in 1984 from the ETH Zurich. Until 1985 she worked on optical bistability at Heriot-Watt University with a research grant from the ETH. She continued her education in the USA at Stanford University , where she obtained a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in 1987 and a Ph. D. in applied physics in 1989 . In her dissertation , she dealt with the optical investigation of charge distribution and voltage in integrated circuits (IC) made of gallium arsenide and in low-noise ultrashort pulse laser systems .

In 1989 it went to AT&T Bell Laboratories . Here she did research on optical switches, ultra-short pulse laser systems and semiconductors - spectroscopy . During this time she invented the SESAM chip.

She has been a professor at ETH Zurich since March 1993, initially on an extraordinary and since the end of 1997 on a full professorship. She was the first female physics professor at ETH Zurich.

Her research interests at ETH Zurich continue to be ultra-short pulse lasers, generation of high harmonics , attosecond physics, ultra-fast spectroscopy and new components for applications in optical data processing and optical communication .

She has authored over 240 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and 11 book chapters (as of 2008). In 2000, she was the third most cited researcher in the field of optoelectronics in the past ten years .

With her husband Kurt Weingarten, she founded Time-Bandwidth Products in Zurich in 1994 as a spin-off to commercialize new developments in the field of diode-pumped ultrashort pulse laser technology. They have two children together.

In 2001 and 2006, Ursula Keller was visiting professor at Lund University and the University of California, Berkeley . Since 2010 she has been the director of the NCCR MUST (Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology) research program initiated by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Ursula Keller received the European Inventor Award in 2018. In 2019 she was appointed by the European Patent Office as one of the leading experts evaluating proposals for this award.

She is running for the 2019 National Council elections in 25th place on the FDP electoral list in the canton of Zurich.

controversy

In March 2019, Ursula Keller spoke in an interview with reference to the bullying allegations against the ETH astronomy professor Marcella Carollo with the online magazine Republik of “leadership deficiencies, sexism and corruption at ETH Zurich” and that the reason for the requested dismissal of her colleague “not primarily the bullying allegations, but her gender” . However, other colleagues at ETH disagreed with Keller. In a letter to the school board and the ETH Board a dozen professors, department head inside and study directors presented their point of view: "We want to emphasize in this letter that we experienced another culture and experience from that outlined in the press" . ETH President Joël Mesot , who had previously initiated an external investigation, spoke of massive, but completely unsubstantiated allegations: “For me it is absolutely unacceptable that ETH members without any supporting documents make such serious accusations against ETH and especially against their own Colleagues in an interview. " During the same period, Ursula Keller was warned by the ETH Zurich under threat of dismissal. ETH did not comment on the details, but stated that Keller had not been admonished about going public. Ursula Keller's allegations were largely refuted by two external investigations. Ursula Keller distanced herself from her allegations of corruption and abuse of office to the ETH Zurich.

Honors, prizes and memberships

Ursula Keller is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), an elected foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , a member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In 2008 she was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

Fonts

  • Ultra-fast solid state lasers , in Horst Weber , Hans Joachim Eichler , Reinhart Poprawe (editor): Landolt-Börnstein - Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology , New Series, Group 8, Volume 1B, Part 1, Laser Physics- Fundamentals , Springer 2007, pp. 33 to 170

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Interview in Optoelectronics ( Memento of the original from September 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 2001 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / esi-topics.com
  2. ↑ a b "Laser light with tact" innovate 1/07, p. 37
  3. ^ Text contribution to the film in nano on 3SAT , June 7, 2005
  4. ↑ Sylvie Logean: Ursulakeller a vu la lumière au bout laser . In: Le Temps . April 25, 2018 ( letemps.ch ).
  5. ↑ Company Background accessed on Time-Bandwidth products website : September 6, 2008, (Eng.)
  6. ↑ a b Ursula Keller receives the European Inventor Award | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 7, 2018, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch ).
  7. ^ European Patent Office: European Inventor Award: jury members. Retrieved January 21, 2019 .
  8. ^ FDP Zurich: nomination of the extended party executive committee for the attention of the assembly of delegates on April 2, 2019. FDP Zurich, accessed on April 25, 2019 .
  9. ^ Nils Pfänders: ETH Zurich: How the Carollo case divides the university . April 4, 2019, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed April 25, 2019]).
  10. ^ René Donzé: ETH threatens second professor with dismissal. In: nzzas.nzz.ch . May 11, 2019, accessed April 2, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Corruption and abuse of power? Reports relieve ETH . In: Tages-Anzeiger . ISSN  1422-9994 ( tagesanzeiger.ch [accessed on May 13, 2020]).
  12. ^ BDO AG: Final report on the administrative investigation in the physics department D-PHYS at the ETH Zurich. Retrieved May 13, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Ursula Keller (with picture) at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on July 15, 2016.
  14. ↑ Award of the Medal of Honor , in: Informationsdienst Wissenschaft from June 2, 2010, accessed on June 3, 2010
  15. ^ IEEE Fellows Directory , accessed March 16, 2018
  16. ↑ Ursula Keller: Winner of the 2020 SPIE Gold Medal - Novus Light Today. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Keller, Ursula
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss laser physicist
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Zug , Switzerland