Majed Chergui

Majed Chergui (born 1956 in Casablanca) is a Switzerland and French physicists specialized in ultrafast dynamics of light-induced processes. He is a professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the head of the Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne of Basic Sciences.
Chergui was born in Casablanca (Morocco), and grew up in Algeria and Lebanon. He studied physics and mathematics at the Chelsea College of Science and Technology of London and received his Bachelor's degree in 1977. In 1978, he received a Master's degree in Atomic physics from Paris-Sud University. He then joined Jacques Bauche at Paris-Sud University as a PhD student and graduated in 1981 in physics. In 1986, he received a Habilitation in physics under supervision of Venkataraman Chandrasekharan at Université Sorbonne Paris Nord. He then joined Nikolaus Schwentner at Free University of Berlin as a postdoctoral researcher. In 1987, he became a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at Free University of Berlin. He joined the Institute for Experimental Physics as a senior research assistant at the of the Freie Universität Berlin in 1990. From 1993 to 2003 he was professor experimental condensed matter physics at the University of Lausanne. In, 1996 he was guest professor at National University of Quilmes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and from 1999 to 2000 research associate at the American University of Beirut. 
Since 2003, he has been professor of physics and chemistry at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and the head of the Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
He was twice Guest Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the Max-Born-Institut and at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (2009-2010), and at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society.
Chergui's research laboratory is interested in the description of ultrafast dynamics of light-induced processes in molecules, solids and proteins, and in metallic and semiconductor Nanomaterials. Their specialty is the real time visualizations of processes by employing ultrafast Spectroscopy. They investigate physical processes such as structural changes in the Chromophore and the medium, and the influence of local Electric field on their spectral and dynamical features. They also study the ultrafast dynamics of charge carriers in semiconductor and metallic Nanostructure. The research tools they use encompass ultrafast picosecond and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy.
Chergui is the recipient of the Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology 2021 from the American Chemical Society, the Liversidge Award 2019 by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Khwarizmi International Award 2018, the Edward Stern Prize for Lifetime Achievements 2015, Humboldt Research Award 2010, the Rammal Medal 2007 by the Euroscience Foundation, and the Miller Award 2002.
He is a member of the Academy of Arab Scientists (2020), an Elettra Distinguished Scientist (2020) Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, a fellow of The Optical Society, and fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the European Physical Society.
He is the editor in chief at the American Crystallographic Association.
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Category:1956 births
Category:Scientists
Category:French physicists