Majed Chergui receives the 2026 Optica William F. Meggers Award
Majed Chergui. Credit: EPFL
Optica honors EPFL’s Majed Chergui for pioneering work in ultrafast spectroscopy.
Optica (formerly Optical Society of America), the society advancing optics and photonics, has named Majed Chergui the 2026 recipient of the William F. Meggers Award. Established in 1970, the William F. Meggers Award honors outstanding work in spectroscopy and commemorates Meggers’ major contributions to the field. The award includes a medal and is presented annually by Optica.
Majed Chergui, Honorary Professor at EPFL and former head of the Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy, is one of 22 scientists selected by Optica for its 2026 awards and medals program. His work has deeply influenced the fields of chemical physics and materials science and helped establish ultrafast spectroscopy as a central tool for probing matter on its fundamental timescales.
According to the official award announcement, “Chergui is honored for pioneering contributions in ultrafast linear and non-linear optical and X-ray spectroscopy and his seminal studies of the electronic and structural dynamics of (bio)chemical systems and materials, which have deeply influenced the fields of chemical physics and materials science.”
Chergui has helped shape ultrafast science, a field that tracks how electrons and atoms move on timescales of femtoseconds, a millionth of a billionth of a second. By developing and applying advanced spectroscopic techniques, his research has revealed how light triggers structural and electronic changes in molecules and materials, insights that underpin areas ranging from solar energy conversion to photochemistry and biological function.
Chergui joined EPFL in 2003 and led the Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy within the School of Basic Sciences. More about his career and research can be found on his EPFL profile and on the page of emeritus professors at the School of Basic Sciences. His research has earned international recognition, including the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award. At EPFL, he trained a generation of researchers in ultrafast optical and X-ray methods and contributed to establishing Lausanne as a major hub for time-resolved spectroscopy.