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People of the Wolverhampton Light-Matter Group
Prof. Fabrice P. Laussy (Chair)
I am a French theoretical physicist, with an interest in most topics of physics and working more specifically in the fields of quantum optics, light-matter interactions, condensed matter and solid-state physics. I obtained my Ph.D in 2005 at the Université Blaise Pascal (in France) and gained extensive post-doctoral experience throughout Europe with stays in Sheffield (UK), Madrid (Spain), Southampton (UK) & Munich (Germany), the latter as a Marie Curie Fellow. In the period 2012—2016, I built a Research Group in Madrid, Spain, as a Ramón y Cajal fellow and with the support of the ERC starting grant POLAFLOW. In 2017, I took up a position at the University of Wolverhampton where I officiate as the Director of Study for Physics, setting on foot an ambitious Physics course for this vibrant University. I am currently the chair of Light and Matter interactions there.
My proudest achievements in Science include a theory of Bose-Einstein condensation based on quantum Boltzmann master equations, the theory of frequency-resolved photon correlations and the study of its applications, including the proposal for a new type of light where photons are replaced by groups (or bundles) of $N$ photons for a tunable integer $N$, and the design of a device to generate it: the bundler. Recently, I also contributed to the first demonstration of a genuine quantum character of polaritons (light-matter molecules). I am co-author of the popular textbook Microcavities. My immediate goals are to i) move forward quantum technologies based on our theoretical breakthroughs and ii) build a thriving Physics branch at the UoW to implement the noble mission of the University of bringing hand in hand research and teaching, as two facets of the same coin, that of knowledge. Non scholæ sed vitæ.
web - mail - tel: 01902 322270
Dr. Elena del Valle (Senior Lecturer)
I am Senior Lecturer in Quantum Optics, a theorist with expertise in open quantum systems, photon correlations and frequency filtering, for which I developed the "sensor technique" which allows their exact calculation. My skills lie in analytical methods and mathematical methods and I have a passion for teaching and develop projects with students. I completed my PhD in the Departamento Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in March 2009. My thesis was about light-matter interaction in 2D semiconductor microcavities and quantum dots embedded in microcavities. After that, I had the great pleasure of living in the UK for a couple of years (March 2011-2013) after being awarded a Newton International Fellowship at the University of Southampton in the group of Prof. Alexey Kavokin. Between the summers 2011 and 2013, I enjoyed a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers and worked at the Technische Universität München (Germany) with Prof. Michael Hartmann. During 2014, I had a Marie Curie (IEF-Fellowship for career development) at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. My project was called SQUIRREL (Sensing QUantum Information coRRELations). I then became a Ramon y Cajal tenured fellow at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid until July 2019 where I joined the WLM.
mail - tel: 01902 322458
Dr. Anton Nalitov (Lecturer)
I am a lecturer in condensed matter physics and a theoretical physicist working mostly in the field of polaritonics, where we study new exciting properties of liquid light. I am particularly focused on topological, nonlinear and non-Hermitian properties of polariton physics. I did my PhD in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and later continued my research as a postdoc in Southampton, UK, St Petersburg, Russia, where I am originally from, and in Reykjavik, Iceland.
My most notable contribution in physics is the proposal of a polariton topological insulator, an optical analog of its electronic counterpart, which insulates electric current in the bulk, while perfectly conducting it on its surface. Now, since this theoretical prediction has been experimentally confirmed, the great goal is to develop the full quantum and nonlinear theory for topological interacting bosons. We are in a unique place to do this and our field is in a privileged position as a testing playground for this new theory.
mail - tel: 01902 321178
Dr. Gary Sinclair (Lecturer)
I am a physicist, and occasional engineer, who works in the growing field of integrated silicon photonics. This field aims to construct complex optical circuits on chip using optical waveguides, in close analogy with the way electronic integrated circuits have been built. In fact, when building our optical chips we use the same tools that have been developed in the electronics industry, giving us access to the unparalleled investments that have gone into silicon chip fabrication technology. My own research has focused on how we can apply integrated photonics to applications in both classical and quantum computing, with an emphasis on the optical nonlinearities that can be achieved in silicon photonics. This field is now reaching technological maturity, with a range of companies bringing exciting new computing, sensing, and communication products to the market. Since completing my PhD at the University of St Andrews in 2009 I have worked in a variety of academic and industrial research positions, with my longest position in the Quantum Engineering Technology Labs at the University of Bristol. I have recently joined the University of Wolverhampton and am looking forward to teaching and working with our students across a range of exciting new areas in physics.
Dr. Juan Camilo López Carreño (Teaching Associate)
My path in Physics started in 2009 at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá—the Andean capital of Colombia. There I did the undergraduate studies of physics and after completing the five years program under the guidance of Dr. Herbert Vinck, I set sails into research on quantum optics. My journey continued in 2014, this time in Spain, at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid where I obtained the Master degree and was fortunate to become part of the group of Dr. Fabrice Laussy and Dr. Elena del Valle and join their efforts in the research on fundamental issues of quantum mechanics and the quantum description of polaritons.
web - mail - tel: 01902 322187
Eduardo Zubizarreta Casalengua (PhD Student)
I finished the Physics degree in 2016 at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. That very year, I met Dr. Fabrice Laussy and Dr. Elena del Valle together with the group they led and I began to collaborate with them. From those first steps, my interest in quantum mechanics, especially quantum optics and quantum information, has grown swiftly and it keeps on rising. I continued my academic career doing a Master degree in Condensed Matter and Biological Systems at the same university. Nowadays I’m in a PhD program (in Madrid) under the supervision of Dr. Elena del Valle. We stay in touch with the Wolverhampton group with whom we share many common projects. My research is mainly focused on the generation of quantum light, unravelling its nature, understanding the underlying mechanisms and search for future applications. Always looking for the analytical way to face any problem.
mail - tel: 01902 325896
Sana Khalid (PhD Student)
 I am a Mathematics graduate, currently studying my Masters degree at the University of Wolverhampton. I have a passion for Pure and Applied Maths and have a growing interest in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Optics. I intend to continue with this passion, providing my own contributions to the field as a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Fabrice Laussy and Dr. Andrew Gascoyne. |
Guillermo Díaz Camacho (Visiting PhD Student)
 I am a PhD student from Madrid (Spain), and I am in Wolverhampton as a visiting student in the group of Prof. Fabrice Laussy. I did my undergrad in Physics at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and set to continue my academic path with a Master degree in Theoretical Physics at the same university. It was at this point when I got interested in quantum optics and quantum information, and in 2015 pursued a PhD program at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid under the supervision of Prof. Carlos Tejedor. My main line of research is quantum optics in semiconductor nanostructures, studying systems such as microcavity polaritons. |
Dylan Weston (Visiting Lecturer)
 My physics journey began in 2017 when I started studying the 'Physics with foundation year' course at the University of Wolverhampton, after 4 years of study and a pandemic, I finished the course graduating in the summer of 2021 with a first-class honors degree. My final year project focused on photon counting, more specifically calculating the $g^2(\tau)$ function for generated and manipulated photon streams. After my undergraduate degree, I stayed at the University of Wolverhampton completing my master's in Artificial Intelligence, finishing the course in 2023 with distinction. My master's thesis which was supervised by Prof. Fabrice Laussy and Dr. Anton Nalitov was studying a Restricted Boltzmann Machine (a specialised neural network) to estimate the ground state energy of Ising-type systems. I am currently a visiting lecturer within the Physics department teaching Level 6 students. |
Luke Collins (Visiting Lecturer)
 I am a graduate in both a physics degree and a data science master. Working alongside all those at the University of Wolverhampton within the physics degree, after graduating through it myself of course. Originally from the surrounding areas of Staffordshire in a tiny village of Penkridge. Hoping to continue this amazing journey in Physics as a beautiful universe to unravel. I am in the stages of wanting to teach and share physics and maths to the next generation as a teacher. |
Katarzyna (Kasia) Sopinska (Intern)
 I am young student of Dudley college, and I am currently doing an applied science course on level three. My interests lie on a large variety of topics, ranging from art to philosophy. However, the subjects that I am the most passionate about are mathematics and physics, both at an experimental and at theoretical level. At the University of Wolverhampton I am doing an internship, which is helping me to develop my experimental skills but also to deepen my theoretical knowledge. |
Grzegorz (Greg) Mroczynski (Intern)
 I am a college student in Dudley and currently going under BTEC applied science path. My work here is to assist people with their experiments and learning from it in the meantime. I'm here to widen my horizons and learn more; especially about physics and mathematics and being an intern here in Wolverhampton is a great help. |
You...
 We are starting from scratch. We need motivated people at all levels of qualification. Join us, if you can! |
Close collaborators
Dr. Daniele Sanvitto
 Daniele is the head of the advanced photonics lab in Lecce, Italy. He is our top experimentalist collaborator with whom we are actively working on a new road toward quantum computing. |
Dr. Amir Rahmani
 Amir is an Iranian theorist with expertise in dealing with old-style, lengthy algebra running through scores of handwritten pages. We collaborate on light-matter dynamics in unconventional configurations and with new degrees of freedom. |
Dr. Andrew Gascoyne (Senior Lecturer)
I am a Lecturer in mathematics and physics. I graduated with a PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2011 and worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate on a STFC funded project entitled "Magnetic Features and Local Helioseismology" before joining the University of Wolverhampton as a Lecturer in Mathematics in 2015. My research is within the broad area of Solar physics, which is the branch of astrophysics that specialises in the study of the Sun. I am focused on Helioseismology; the study of acoustic wave propagation within the interior of the Sun, and MHD (magnetohydrodynamics) wave propagation. Mathematical modelling is a vital part of this research in order to compare and predict observational signatures and understand the many complex mechanisms and processes involved in the interaction of the solar acoustic modes with magnetic elements on the Sun i.e., Sunspots and Plage regions.
web - mail - tel: 01902 518576
Past
Students, interns
 Mariam Adam and Anji Bard were two Nuffield foundation supported students, working in our group (from July 25 till August 15, 2017) on the problem of the characterisation of quantum sources of light from their photon emission. |
Group Pictures
Evolutions of the group through time.
The Early Days (2017).
The Early Years (2017-2019).
The Dream Years (2019-2020).
