Ana Sofia Morillo Candas has been awarded this year’s Ulrich Bonse Prize by the Committee for Synchrotron Radiation Research (KFS) for her pioneering work in the field of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy.
At MPIK, she works in the group of Christian Ott (Division ‘Quantum Dynamics and Control’, led by Thomas Pfeifer) where her research focuses on the application and development of attosecond spectroscopy. In 2019, she received her PhD from Ecole Polytechnique – Universite Paris-Saclay in France with a thesis entitled Investigation of Fundamental Mechanisms of CO₂ Plasmas. From 2021 to 2024, she worked at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland in the field of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray four-wave mixing, and the development of instrumentation and experimental methods for free-electron lasers. At MPIK, she extended these concepts toward molecular systems and attosecond spectroscopy. Beyond her scientific achievements, Dr. Morillo Candas has demonstrated considerable scientific independence and leadership.
The award ceremony took place on 10 September 2026 as part of the ‘German Conference on Research with Synchrotron Radiation, Neutrons, Ions, and Accelerators at Large-Scale Facilities’ (SNIB2026) in Hamburg.
| The Ulrich Bonse Prize is offered by the German Committee for Research with Synchrotron Radiation (KFS), together with the Association for Research with Synchrotron Radiation e.V. (ARS). The award recognizes outstanding contributions by early-career researchers to the development of methods and scientifi c quality in photon science. This includes, for example, innovations in instrumentation and experimental methodology, novel applications, as well as advances in theoretical understanding and data analysis in research using synchrotron radiation and free-electron lasers. The award is particularly aimed at researchers approximately three to seven years after completion of their PhD who have not yet obtained a permanent position. |
Group ‘Excited Atoms and Molecules in Strong Fields ’ (Christian Ott) at MPIK
Division "Quantum Dynamics & Control" (Prof. Thomas Pfeifer) at MPIK
