Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry 2018

It is always a very exciting time when it comes to the announcement of the Nobel prizes. I am ready to tweet and share the news with the world. This year I was more than happy, for several reasons.
First of all, two women received the prize, one in Physics and another one in Chemistry.  Just five women have received this prize in history. It was 55 years since the last female Physics laureate.
I think times are changing. Slowly, but they are. And when it comes to science, we need to focus on what is important: the SCIENCE, the research , the IMPACT.
The Nobel Prize in Physics “for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” once more honoured the vast application of the laser in physics. On one side Arthur Ashkin “for optical tweezers and their application to biological systems” and on the other Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland “for their method of generating high-intensity ultrashort optical pulses”.
You can find here a good general overview of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Some weeks ago I had the pleasure to meet Gérard Mourou at the Frontiers in Optics in Washington DC, and I share here below one of his slides. It shows how laser physics has developed in both directions, slowing down atoms or accelerating particles. One tool for all!
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Frances Arnold, George Smith, and Gregory Winter for applying the principles of evolution to develop proteins used in everything from new biofuels to to the world's best-selling drug. In this article their amazing research has been described as 'Darwin in a test tube'.
These are examples of impressive scientific work, and life achievements for the development of humankind.
To end, by clicking on the image below you can find Donna Strickland talking about her discovery of the fantastic news, and the best advice: just do what you do best, and what makes you happy!