Physics Research News

Quantum physics project with microscopy application receives €2 million grant

Dr Lucia Caspani, a Senior Lecturer in Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics, is leading a quantum physics imaging project, with applications in microscopy, which has received a grant of nearly €2 million from the European Research Council (ERC).

November 2023

Strathclyde wins Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Photonics Innovation

The University of Strathclyde has been awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in recognition of its research and innovation in the field of Photonics – the science of light.

November 2023

The long and short of it: an add-on to lasers realises star interiors in the lab

A new method of creating laser pulses, more than 1,000 times as powerful as those currently in existence, has been proposed by scientists in the UK and South Korea.

November 2023

Optica Fellowship

Congratulations to Professor Jennifer Hastie on her election to Optica Fellow, for “leadership in the photonics and quantum technology community and pioneering technical contributions in the area of narrow-linewidth lasers”.

November 2023

£4.7M consortium to accelerate growth of Scotland’s photonics sector

The Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow are leading a new consortium which has won £4.7M in funding to support the tripling of the photonics sector across Scotland’s central belt.

October 2023

Promotions

The Department congratulates Dr Jennifer Hastie and Dr Colin Whyte on their promotions to Professor and Dr Amy MacLachlan on her appointment as Chancellor's Fellow.

September 2023

Strong chiral optical force for small chiral molecules based on electric-dipole interactions, inspired by the asymmetrical hydrozoan Velella velella

Drawing inspiration from a remarkable chiral force found in nature, we propose an optical force that discriminates between the enantiomers of a small chiral molecule. Our chiral optical force is several orders of magnitude stronger than other chiral optical forces proposed to date and has a wealth of potential applications, including chiral molecular matter-wave interferometry for precision metrology and tests of fundamental physics, the distillation of chiral molecules in chiral optical lattices as a novel form of matter and, of particular importance, the resolution of enantiomers for use in chemistry and biology.

August 2023

Celebration of Physics recognises the achievements of recent IOP Award winners (2020-2022)

Professor David Birch attended the Institute of Physics Celebration on the 27th June 2023 at Aerospace Bristol recognising the Institute’s 2020-2022 award winners.

June 2023

Strathclyde researchers advance space quantum technology on two fronts

The use of quantum technology in space is being advanced by University of Strathclyde researchers in two new projects funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) under the Enabling Technology Programme.

June 2023

Breakthrough results in quantum secure encryption over standard optical-fibre networks

Strathclyde physicists, working alongside Scottish and international collaborators have achieved remarkable new results in quantum secure encryption over standard optical-fibre networks.

June 2023

Best student presentation at Ultra Wide-bandgap oxides conference

David Nicol, PhD student in the Semiconductor Spectroscopy and Devices research group, won best student presentation at the Institute of Physics Ultra-wide Bandgap Oxide meeting in Bristol.

June 2023

Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship for quantum computing researcher

Dr Jonathan Pritchard has received a Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Senior Research Fellowship, to support an industrial partnership in the development of quantum computers with M Squared.

April 2023

Ice-cold electron beams for ultra-compact X-ray lasers

Ice-cold electron beams simulated in research at the University of Strathclyde could pave the way to reducing X-ray free-electron lasers (X-FELs) to a fraction of their current size.

March 2023

‘Ghostly mirrors’ for high-power lasers

Laser-driven ‘mirrors’ capable of reflecting or manipulating light have been produced in research led at the University of Strathclyde.

January 2023

UK Government Minister visits Strathclyde to hold talks with space sector leaders

Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, George Freeman MP, held talks with space sector leaders during a visit to the University of Strathclyde on 20th January.

January 2023

Promotions

The Department congratulates Dr Daniel Oi on his promotion to Reader, Ross Gray on his promotion to Senior Research Fellow, and Bernhard Ersfeld and Jochen Bruckbauer on their promotions to Research Fellow.

January 2023