Ultrafast science: Adventures on the interface of physics, chemistry and biology

Access to ultrashort laser pulses that last long enough to accommodate only a few optical cycles, is beginning to allow time-dependent nuclear and electron dynamics to be probed within atoms and molecules, thereby enhancing our ability to gain proper insights into how quantum systems react to strong external fields and how they might be subjected to optical control. In this talk I shall present an overview of how we have utilized intense laser pulses of duration as short as ~4 fs to explore dynamical effects of relevance to diverse areas of the physical and engineering sciences, including applications pertaining to DNA damage, laser-induced materials modification and green photonics.