Irina T. Sorokina (born 1963) is a Russian

laser physicist A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

. She works in Norway as a professor of physics at the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...

, and is the founder and CEO of spin-off company ATLA Lasers AS. Irina T Sorokina

Education and career

Sorokina was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1963. Her father was a physicist who worked on the detection of the

cosmic microwave background The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR), or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dar ...

in the early 1950s and by the 1960s had moved to

nonlinear optics Nonlinear optics (NLO) is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in Nonlinearity, nonlinear media, that is, media in which the polarization density P responds non-linearly to the electric field E of the light. The non-linearity ...

and lasers; inspired by him, Sorokina says that she "fell in love with physics, and optics in particular" by the age of 5 or 6. After earning a master's degree in physics and mathematics at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, Sorokina completed a Ph.D. through the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

in 1992. In 2003 she earned a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

TU Wien TU Wien () is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. The university's teaching and research are focused on engineering, computer science, and natural sciences. It currently has about 28,100 students (29% women), eight faculties, and ...

in Austria. She was affiliated with TU Wien as a researcher and lecturer from 1991 until 2007, when she moved to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Recognition

Sorokina was elected to the 2007 class of

OSA Fellow The Optica Fellow is a membership designation of Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA)) that denotes distinguished scientific accomplishment. The bylaws of this society only allow 10% of its membership to be designated as an Opti ...

s "for pioneering contributions to tunable and ultrashort-pulse lasers and their applications in spectroscopy, particularly based on novel materials in the near- and mid-infrared spectral ranges". She is also a member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

, elected in 2009, and is a 2004 winner of the Snell Premium of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

References

External links

NTNU Laser Physics Group
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorokina, Irina Living people Norwegian physicists Russian physicists Russian women physicists Laser researchers Moscow State University alumni TU Wien alumni Academic staff of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Fellows of Optica (society) 1963 births