Collection 16 November 2023

Light talk

This collection brings together in one place the Question & Answer interviews that Nature Photonics has conducted with leading figures in photonics over the years.

Interviews

Fast free-electron laser targets the future

Following first lasing at LCLS-II — a coherent X-ray laser source driven by a 700-m superconducting linear accelerator — several upgrades are already in the works. Nature Photonics spoke to LCLS director Mike Dunne about LCLS-II commissioning hurdles as well as future plans.
- David Pile
Q&A8 Jul 2024 Nature Photonics
Earth’s wobble probed by 16-m² underground laser

A ring laser gyroscope, located at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell in Southern Germany, measures variations in the Earth’s rotation. Nature Photonics spoke to a key researcher on the project, Ulrich Schreiber, about the system’s birth, teething issues, and how it may one day probe the El Niño effect.
- David Pile
Q&A8 May 2024 Nature Photonics
The Encyclopedia of Photonics

Nature Photonics spoke with Rüdiger Paschotta, the founder of RP Photonics, about his online encyclopedia of photonics, the motivation behind it and future plans for the project.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A5 Jan 2024 Nature Photonics
Computing with light

Photonic processors are promising candidates for solving tough mathematical problems. Nature Photonics asked Yoshihisa Yamamoto, director of the Physics and Informatics Laboratories at NTT Research in USA, about the progress that is being made in realizing coherent Ising machines (CIMs).
- Noriaki Horiuchi
Q&A15 Nov 2023 Nature Photonics
Big lasers with a mission

Allen Weeks, Director General of the Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium, talks to Nature Photonics about the founding and future of the high-power-laser facilities, and stimulating a resurgence of physics in new EU member countries.
- David Pile
Q&A31 Oct 2023 Nature Photonics
Sheets of light illuminate life sciences

Light sheet microscopy offers rapid 3D imaging of biological specimens while limiting photodamage. Nature Photonics spoke with Elizabeth Hillman of Columbia University about its capabilities, promising applications and present limitations.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A29 Sep 2023 Nature Photonics
Photonics makes a splash underwater

Optics is now going beneath the waves to give remote-operated vehicles and divers fast optical wireless data links. Nature Photonics spoke with Boon Ooi from KAUST, a leading researcher into underwater photonics research.
- Oliver Graydon
Q&A15 Aug 2023 Nature Photonics
Optical secrets of the natural world

Benjamin Palmer from Ben-Gurion University in Israel talks to Nature Photonics about the intriguing optical properties found in molecular crystals in the living world. His latest paper on the topic can be found in this issue.
- Oliver Graydon
Q&A5 Jun 2023 Nature Photonics
Seeing into deep tissue

Nature Photonics spoke to Hongjie Dai from Stanford University about bioimaging in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) spectral window and its clinical potential.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A13 Apr 2023 Nature Photonics
An open question

Nature Photonics talks to Mark Hahnel, the founder and CEO of Figshare, a popular data repository, about the benefits and trends in making data open and shareable.
- Oliver Graydon
Q&A15 Mar 2023 Nature Photonics
It’s a matter of time

Mordechai (Moti) Segev spoke with Nature Photonics about the fascinating topic of photonic time crystals — materials with a refractive index that is periodically modulated in time on ultrafast timescales — and their inspiring future ahead.
- Rachel Won
Q&A16 Feb 2023 Nature Photonics
Metaoptics for the consumer market

Metalenz, a spin-out company from Harvard University founded in 2016, has launched its first metasurface-based product. Nature Photonics spoke with co-founder Federico Capasso about the company and its plans for flat optics.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A22 Dec 2022 Nature Photonics
Metamaterials for the masses

George Palikaras, President and CEO of Meta Materials Inc., discusses the challenges of commercializing metamaterials, learned on the path from a small start-up to a Nasdaq-listed company.
- David Pile
Q&A22 Dec 2022 Nature Photonics
Metasurfaces get smart

Geoffroy Lerosey, co-founder and CEO/CSO of Greenerwave, shares how tunable metasurfaces may shake up industries from automotive to wireless communications.
- David Pile
Q&A22 Dec 2022 Nature Photonics
A bright future for attosecond physics

The 2022 Wolf Prize in Physics has been awarded to Paul Corkum, Anne L’Huillier and Ferenc Krausz for their pioneering contributions to ultrafast laser science. Nature Photonics spoke to them about the milestones, challenges and future opportunities for the field.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A29 Jul 2022 Nature Photonics
Shaping light for optogenetics

Nature Photonics spoke to Hillel Adesnik from UC Berkeley about the benefits of using photonic techniques in optogenetics and the key challenges laying ahead.
- Giampaolo Pitruzzello
Q&A16 May 2022 Nature Photonics
Ever-evolving optical lattice clocks

The 2022 Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics was awarded to Hidetoshi Katori and Jun Ye, who have been independently working on optical lattice clocks. They are the first winners from the photonics community. Nature Photonics interviewed Hidetoshi Katori on how he overcame difficulties in the study of optical lattice clocks, and what the next challenges are.
- Noriaki Horiuchi
Q&A20 Dec 2021 Nature Photonics
Clocks with a precise tick

Jun Ye from the University of Colorado was recently co-awarded the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics with Hidetoshi Katori for their pioneering research on optical lattice clocks. Ye spoke to Nature Photonics about the history of clocks and his future plans.
- Oliver Graydon
Q&A20 Dec 2021 Nature Photonics
Redlining lasers for nuclear fusion

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported over 1.3 MJ output, representing 70% of both input laser energy and official ‘fusion ignition’. Operations manager, Bruno Van Wonterghem, delves into the optics and what to expect next.
- David F. P. Pile
Q&A29 Nov 2021 Nature Photonics
Trailblazing lasing

Nature Photonics spoke to Chihaya Adachi from the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics Research (OPERA), Kyushu University, about the potential merits of, and hurdles facing, the development of organic semiconductor lasers.
- David F. P. Pile
Q&A27 Aug 2021 Nature Photonics
Emitting organically

Franky So, from North Carolina State University, explains some hard truths for solution-processed emitters, but also that, fundamentally, there is no reason why OLEDS can’t ‘make it’.
- David F. P. Pile
Q&A27 Aug 2021 Nature Photonics
Machine learning with light

Nature Photonics spoke to Aydogan Ozcan about the rise of artificial intelligence-enabled optics and the hurdles ahead.
- David Pile
Q&A29 Jan 2021 Nature Photonics
Gaining with loss

Nature Photonics spoke to Demetrios Christodoulides, of CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida, about the birth of the parity–time-symmetry concepts in optics and the challenges and prospects on the path ahead.
- Interview by David F. P. Pile
Q&A30 Nov 2017 Nature Photonics
A bright light for Europe

Following eight years of construction, the superconducting European X-ray free-electron laser in Hamburg, Germany has just opened and started its first experiments. Nature Photonics spoke to Thomas Tschentscher, its scientific director, about the facility and its plans.
- Noriaki Horiuchi
Q&A29 Sep 2017 Nature Photonics

Light talk

Interviews

Fast free-electron laser targets the future

Earth’s wobble probed by 16-m² underground laser

The Encyclopedia of Photonics

Computing with light

Big lasers with a mission

Sheets of light illuminate life sciences

Photonics makes a splash underwater

Optical secrets of the natural world

Seeing into deep tissue

An open question

It’s a matter of time

Metaoptics for the consumer market

Metamaterials for the masses

Metasurfaces get smart

A bright future for attosecond physics

Shaping light for optogenetics

Ever-evolving optical lattice clocks

Clocks with a precise tick

Redlining lasers for nuclear fusion

Trailblazing lasing

Emitting organically

Machine learning with light

Gaining with loss

A bright light for Europe

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