Victor Malka

Biography

Prof. Victor Malka is CNRS Research Director (DRCE) at the Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée (CNRS/ENSTA/École Polytechnique), Professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Science Deputy Director at ELI-NP in Romania. He obtained his PhD in Physics from École Polytechnique in 1990. Throughout his career, Prof. Malka has worked on several key areas of plasma physics, including atomic physics, inertial fusion, and laser-plasma interactions. His current research focuses on relativistic laser-plasma interactions, laser-plasma accelerators, and their societal applications, in which he has made pioneering contributions. He is internationally recognised for his ground-breaking work, having published over 350 scientific articles and delivered more than 175 invited talks at major international conferences. His outstanding contributions have earned him several prestigious awards: Grand Prix d’Etat from the French Academy of Sciences Julius Springer Prize (2017) F. Holweck Prize, jointly awarded by the SFP and IOP Quantum Electronics and Optics Division (QEOD) Prize from the European Physical Society (EPS) Prof. Malka is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and the European Physical Society (EPS), and a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and of the Romanian Academy of Sciences. He has also been awarded two ERC Advanced Grants and two ERC Proof of Concept Grants. Within the European Academy of Sciences, Prof. Malka has served as Officer of the Physics Division for: March 2020 – March 2023 Extended until March 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic