Tom Hausken
Organisation: Optica Role: Science adviser Based in: Silicon Valley, California, USA
Optical tests for infectious diseases, augmented and virtual reality, lidar for autonomous vehicles, integrated photonics and quantum computing are just some of the biggest technologies the sector is working on, according to Tom Hausken. ‘What’s great about photonics is that there
are always several active opportunities, large and small,’ he said. Hausken is concerned with the impact
of global political developments: ‘In the past two years there was a lot of talk about supply chains and the risk of recession, but the retreat from a “flat” global economy is
Martijn Heck
Organisation: Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology Role: Professor Based in: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Although he thinks some people would claim the sector is already there, Martijn Heck believes the next big thing in photonics is circuit-level design for photonic integrated circuits, and smart design for robustness. ‘Circuits are currently seen too much as
a collection of device-level building blocks, mimicking a miniaturised optical table setup, and their interaction is not yet fully taken into account. Smart design to calibrate and control photonic circuits inline should further accelerate the uptake,’ he said. Finding people to carry this out does
Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering, MSc in Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology
throw up challenges, however: ‘We will see a convergence of electronics and photonics, and talent that has a solid understanding of both fields is really scarce.’ Heck speaks from experience, having
started a new academic group at Aarhus University in Denmark, without a cleanroom, without initial start-up funding, without a network, in a newly established department, without track record, and in a country he hardly knew. ‘After five years, the group was a solid ten people, with plenty of funding and a well-equipped lab,’ he said.
Martin Hessling
Organisation: Ulm University of Applied Sciences
Role: Professor Based in: Ulm, Germany
Even as the world recovers from Covid-19, researchers such as Martin Hessling are focused on preventing the spread of future pandemics through the use of photonics. He believes one of the key areas will be the ‘development and application of high power far-UVC lamps and LEDs, because of their potential to inactivate pathogens like coronaviruses without harming humans’. Hessling said a multi-disciplinary
approach to photonics has yielded benefits for him: ‘When I started as a lecturer, I had to teach microbiological and biotechnological
Education: PhD in Natural Science, University of Bonn, Certificate in medical physics with a focus on lasers and optics, University of Kaiserslautern
topics in theory and practice (besides optics). This was not easy for a physicist, but it was a stroke of luck, as it led to the development of our most important field of research, the microbiological effects of light and radiation.’ He finds the practical applications of photonics research central to motivating new researchers: ‘Even 100-year-old techniques such as UVC disinfection still prevent infections and save human lives.’ Hessling plans to attend the European Conferences on Biomedical Optics 2023 in Munich.
Education: PhD in Optoelectronics from University of California, Santa Barbara
a much bigger and more permanent change.’ He believes research should exist in a
virtuous cycle: ‘It’s a mistaken idea that innovation flows only from the ivory tower of R&D to manufacturing. That is the traditional view, but not representative of reality. More often, it’s a complex web of feedback loops from manufacturing that moves innovation forward. It’s the work of thousands of engineers, technicians, and yes, R&D scientists.’ You can find Hausken at
linkedin.com/in/ tom-hausken-a59103/. He attends OFC, Laser World of Photonics, and SPIE Photonics West.
30 Photonics100 2023
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