A woman won the Nobel Prize in physics for the first time in 55 years

A woman won the Nobel Prize in physics for the first time in 55 years: Canadian physicist Donna Strickland was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics, marking the first time for a woman to receive the award in 55 years — and the third time in the history of the award, according to the Nobel Prize’s Twitter. Strickland and France’s Gérard Mourou were jointly awarded one half of the prize for their “method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses,” while the other half was granted to the US’ Arthur Ashkin for developing optical tweezers that can grab molecules and living cells, the Royal Swedish Academy said in a release. Previous women laureates: Maria Goeppert-Mayer in 1963 and Marie Curie in 1903.