Shambhu Ghimire
Lead Scientist, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Bio
Shambhu Ghimire is a Principal Investigator and a Group Leader at Stanford PULSE Institute. He teaches Ultrafast Quantum Dynamics in Applied physics and Physics Department at Stanford. Ghimire's research interests are in ultrafast AMO and Condensed Matter Physics, which includes the use of world's first X-ray free-electron laser, Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), as well as the table-top lasers and high-harmonics systems that his team has pioneered at SLAC. They observed high-harmonics from bulk crystals subjected to intense mid-infrared laser pulses for the first time in 2010. Since then, they have been investigating the underlying generation mechanism for their potential spectroscopic applications. The latest discoveries include the use of high-harmonics in ultrafast spectroscopy of two-dimensional crystals and topological insulators, which includes the capability to probe crystal symmetries and topological phase transitions in all-optical settings. Ghimire has been recognized as an Optica Fellow in 2024 for his pioneering contributions to strong-field and attosecond physics in condensed matter systems. Ghimire had received prestigious young investigator award from U. S. Department of Energy in 2014. Before joining Stanford, Ghimire did a post-doc work at University of Michigan, following a Ph.D degree in atomic, molecular and optical physics from Kansas State University in 2007.