Professor Martin Dawson
Institute of Photonics
Personal statement
Professor Martin D. Dawson FRS FRSE FIEEE FOSA FInstP is a physicist known for his work on lasers and compound semiconductors. He is Director of Research in the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics, which he helped establish 28 years ago, and he was also appointed inaugural Head and Scientific Director of the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (Fh-CAP), the UK's only Fraunhofer research centre, in 2012. Martin has over 35 years’ experience of applied research gained in academia and industry in the UK and USA and he has been involved in the formation and technical development of a number of spin-out businesses, most recently including mLED and Neuro-VLC. He gave the Rank Prize Lecture in 2014 and the Edwards Lecture in 2023 and he has received awards including Gabor Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics; Aron Kessel Award of the IEEE Photonics Society; Nick Holonyak Jr Award from Optica/OSA; Global Solid State Lighting Award of Outstanding Achievement from ISA; Distinguished Service Award from the IEEE Photonics Society. He and his group have twice been awarded the IEEE Photonics Technology Letters Best Paper Award (2019 and 2022). He and his colleagues' contributions were recognised in the award of the 2023 Queen's Anniversary Prize to the University of Strathclyde for 'Excellence, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Photonics'.
Prize And Awards
- 2027 IEEE Photonics Award
- Recipient
- 22/9/2026
- Life Fellow of the IEEE
- Recipient
- 2026
- Fraunhofer Taler
- Recipient
- 2024
- Sir Harold Hartley Award (Inst MC)
- Recipient
- 1/11/2023
- 45th Edwards Lecture (City University, London) including WCSIM Medal
- Recipient
- 1/2/2023
- Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS)
- Recipient
- 15/7/2022
Publications
- Compact system for eye tracking with VR/AR displays via deep learned MicroLED projection and single-pixel sensing
- Johnstone G E, Higham C F, Kanwal A, Herrnsdorf J, Henderson R K, Dawson M D, Murray-Smith R, Strain M
- Advanced Photonics Research (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adpr.70286
- Simultaneous data display and environmental sensing with a micro-LED display
- Gray J A, Zhang Y, McKendry J J D, Li D D, Henderson R K, Strain M J, Dawson M D, Herrnsdorf J
- Optics Express Vol 34, pp. 35312-35321 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.606550
- UV-C free-space quantum key distribution
- Liu Feng, Farmer James, Faulkner Grahame, Trichili Abderrahmen, McKendry Jonathan, Xie Enyuan, Wang Zhaoming, Wang Jianming, Hill Jordan, Herrnsdorf Johannes, Rajbhandari Sujan, Dawson Martin D, O'Brien Dominic
- Optica Quantum Vol 4, pp. 397-405 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICAQ.604157
- 1.5 Gbps optical wireless communications using far-ultraviolet-C micro-light emitting diodes
- Zimi Hichem, McKendry Jonathan JD, Babadi Sina, Osahon Isaac NO, Younus Othman I, Ruschel Jan, Rass Jens, Einfeldt Sven, Haas Harald, Dawson Martin D, Rajbhandari Sujan, Herrnsdorf Johannes
- 2026 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing (CSNDSP) 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing 2026 15th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing, CSNDSP 2026 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/CSNDSP68462.2026.11654373
- Single pixel image classification using an ultrafast digital light projector
- Kanwal Aisha, Johnstone Graeme E, Dehkhoda Fahimeh, Herrnsdorf Johannes H, Henderson Robert K, Dawson Martin D, Porte Xavier, Strain Michael J
- Optics Express Vol 34, pp. 23803-23816 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.598810
- On-chip optical pumping of nanowire emitters using transfer-printed micro-LEDs
- Xia Zhongyi, Jevtics Dimitars, Guilhabert Benoit, Gao Qian, Tan Hark Hoe, Jagadish Chennupati, Dawson Martin D, Strain Michael J
- Nanotechnology Vol 37 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ae6dcd
Professional Activities
- Steps towards market-ready far-UVC light emitting diodes – aspects of efficiency, reliability, modulation, and fiber coupling capability
- Contributor
- 1/2027
- IEEE 15th International Symposium on Communications Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing
- Participant
- 16/7/2026
- Paper FK4:IL17: Far-UV-C light emitting diodes for optical wireless communication
- Speaker
- 24/6/2026
- High-Speed and Robust Optical Wireless Communication Systems: Digital Signal Processing and Application Scenarios
- Contributor
- 5/2026
- Royal Society (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2026
- Rank Prize Optoelectronics Committee (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2026
Projects
- TITAN Extension. Integration of high-speed micro-LED transmitters with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (micro-LED RIS)
- Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2026
- plaTform drIving The ultimAte coNnectivity (TITAN) (Future Communications Systems Hub)
- Haas, Harald (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator) Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Co-investigator) Tavakkolnia, Iman (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2026
- Structured light projection for FLIM in scattering environments (QUANTIC)
- Strain, Michael (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator) Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2024
- Doctoral Training Partnership 2020-2021 University of Strathclyde | Gray, Johnathan
- Herrnsdorf, Johannes (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator) Gray, Johnathan (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2025
- Fraunhofer UK Research Limited: Studentship Agreement | Cohen, Steven
- Strain, Michael (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator) Cohen, Steven (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 01-Jan-2024
- QT Assemble: Integrated Quantum Technology Programme
- Strain, Michael (Principal Investigator) Dawson, Martin (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2023