Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz receives Bavarian Minister-President's Honorary Award

Professor Ferenc Krausz, a Nobel laureate in physics affiliated with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), has received the Bavarian Minister-President's Honorary Award. The award was presented in April during the "B.DiGiTAL 2025" Bavarian Digital Awards event held at the Rocketeer Festival in Augsburg.

Krausz was recognized as a pioneer in attosecond physics. Dr. Florian Herrmann, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery and State Minister for Federal and Media Affairs, presented the award on behalf of Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder. "Ferenc Krausz's groundbreaking research is yielding advances in medicine and IT – with potential for many further revolutionary developments," Herrmann stated.

"The award by Minister-President Söder is especially meaningful, as it recognizes not only the importance of digital innovation, but also the role of research in the development of pioneering technologies. As someone from the world of basic research, it’s a great honor to be acknowledged in this way," commented Krausz.

In 2001, Krausz and his team produced the first light pulses in the attosecond range, enabling the observation of electron movements in real time. Krausz, who has been Chair Professor of Experimental Physics/Laser Physics at LMU since 2004 and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics since 2003, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023 for his contributions to attosecond physics.

Herrmann highlighted Krausz's unique combination of top-level research with interdisciplinary progress, noting that his developments have advanced medical diagnostic techniques and hold potential for significantly boosting computing power in information technology. The B.DiGiTAL Prize was also awarded to the founders and organizers of the Rocketeer Festival.