Breaking Another World Record?

Dr. Zenghu Chang, of the College of Sciences and College of Optics & Photonics (CREOL), has a lab which holds the world record for shortest laser pulse ever created, at 67 billionths of a billionth of a second. His new lead research project on attosecond lasers will work to make pulses up to six times faster than the current world record.

Dr. Chang has earned more than $9 million in federal grants to research developing faster computers and more efficient solar energy, because of his research and success with attosecond lasers. He was the only researcher in Florida to receive a Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Institute Award this year. Dr. Chang is the lead researcher on the attosecond project and is a co-investigator on a project involving chemical processes. UCF, Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley, are among universities that received multiple awards.

The professor’s new research project on the attosecond will help scientists better understand the movements of electrons, eventually leading to faster computers and electronic devices. This project is funded for $7.5 million over five years.

“With this grant, we will be able to take attosecond science to the next level and see things that have never been seen before,” Dr. Chang said.

Dr. Chang’s second project, led by the University of California, Berkeley, will help scientists understand the first step of many chemical processes. Through understanding chemical reactions — such as those that convert absorbed sunlight into electrical power — the research could lead to more efficient solar energy. Chang’s UCF team will receive $1.6 million over five years for that project.

More information on Dr. Chang can be found here.