Awards and honours

Winners of the VI “Day of Light” photography contest published

On the occasion of the celebration on May 16 of the International Day of Light, the list of winners of the VI “Day of Light” Photographic Contest organized by the University Master in Physics and Laser Technology (USAL – UVA) in which the following entities and organizations also collaborate:

the ATTOSTRUCTURA project (funded by the European Innovation Council within the framework of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 innovation research program under grant agreement ERC 851201)
the Salamanca Local Section of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics
the Spanish Society of Optics SEDOPTICA
Pure and Applied Optics magazine
the OSAL Student Chapter University Association
the Supernova University Association
the Physics League University Association

The complete ruling can be read on the website of the Master’s Degree in Laser Physics and Technology.

Below we include the 4 award-winning photographs.

1st Category: Light Technologies and Optical Phenomena.

- First prize for the photograph entitled “Sacred Colors” taken by Ms. María Serrano Sánchez.

Description: This photograph shows how the light from the stained glass windows coming from a rose window hits the columns in vibrant colors. It is striking how the light plays with cold and warm tones on the architectural elements.

- Second prize for the photograph entitled “Diffraction Vision” taken by Mr. Mario Guerras Rodríguez.

Description: We have a photograph with a small flashlight through a diffraction grating. Thanks to this element, we are able to diffract the light and separate the different wavelengths that make up the light of the flashlight, being able to observe the different colors of the spectrum.

2nd Category: The Laser.

- First prize for the photograph entitled “Reflexiones” taken by Mr. Fernando González Reyes.

Description: Reflections of a laser with the inner walls of a glass beaker filled with oil. The glass is immersed in water, the laser is green and turns red as it passes through the oil.

- Second prize for the photograph entitled “Liquid Light” taken by Mr. Fernando González Reyes.

Description: Image of the pattern formed when a laser beam hits a water jet.

Sagrados colores

$Visión de difracción$

Visión de difracción

Reflexiones

Luz liquida

Thank you very much to all the participants and congratulations to the winners.

18 June, 2024 admin Awards and honours, News No comments

BBVA foundation recognizes the ICO prize of the International Commission of Optics awarded to Carlos Hernández García

The BBVA Foundation publishes on its website the news of the recognition received by Carlos Hernández – García and the granting of the ICO Prize by the International Optics Commission.

The ICO Prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a notable contribution to the area of optics research before the age of 40.

The award jury has highlighted the “transcendental” contributions of Hernández García to the theory and modeling of the generation of high-order harmonics using laser light, an essential tool for manipulating the most basic properties of light that has led to important advances in the field of nanotechnology.

You can consult the complete press release on the BBVA Foundation website

19 December, 2023 admin Awards and honours, News No comments

Sergio Martín Domene winner of a TFM award for research in Quantum Communications

Sergio Martín Domene, researcher in the Laser and Photonics Applications group and member of the ERC Attostructura project, has been awarded third prize within the 1st Edition of the Awards for Excellence in Master’s Thesis for Research in Quantum Communications.

The objective of the contest is to recognize the Master’s Thesis presented by USAL students in the years 2022 and 2023 to promote both scientific and technical research and the transfer of knowledge.

The award-winning work is titled “Study of the dynamics of excited magnetization using structured laser pulses.”

One of the most active fields currently on the scientific scene is quantum computing, where the communications of the future are advancing. Although the theory necessary to understand quantum information and computing is quite advanced, technologically it is still a challenge to manufacture physical support devices. In this sense, there are different ways to build or materialize a physical system that is capable of storing a unit of quantum information, called a qubit (quantum bit). Some of these proposals are based on the recent fields of spintronics and magnonics, that is, the use of magnetic systems to enable the storage and manipulation of data. Understanding at a fundamental level how these systems behave is crucial to continue promoting research.

In this work, a theoretical study is carried out through numerical simulations, demonstrating that it is possible to carry out ultrafast control of the magnetization (macroscopic description of a set of spins, a quantum mechanical property) of a ferromagnetic material hundreds of nanometers in size. , thanks to the interaction of structured laser pulses of a few picoseconds in duration. The novel aspect lies in the fact that these generated pulses consist of an intense circularly polarized magnetic field isolated from the electric field, obtained from the strong focusing of two out-of-phase cylindrical vector beams propagating in perpendicular directions. On the one hand, this scheme allows avoiding losses due to the Joule effect in the magnetic sample due to the currents that would be induced by the interaction with the electric field. On the other hand, the interaction of the magnetization field of the sample with the magnetic field of the optical field is much more direct, resulting in a chiral and nonlinear effect on the dynamics when the polarization state is circular.

This award is part of the Complementary Plan in Quantum Communications, within the NextGeneration program of the European Union (PRTRC17.I1) which is financed by the European Union, the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Transformation and Resilience Recovery Plan and the Junta of Castilla y León through its Nos Impulsa program.

10 November, 2023 admin Awards and honours No comments

Carlos Hernández García awarded the International Commission of Optics (ICO) 2023 award

Carlos Hernández García, member of the ALF – USAL group and principal investigator of the Attostructura project, has been awarded in the latest edition of the International Commission of Optics (ICO) 2023 Award in recognition of (textual quote)

“for seminal contributions in the theory and modeling of laser- driven high harmonic generation and understanding how to manipulate their waveforms to impart orbital and spin photon angular momentum”

You can access the complete information at https://www.e-ico.org/blog/awards/ico-prize/ and consult the press release that has been published by the International Commission for Optics.

9 November, 2023 admin Awards and honours No comments

Marina Fernández Galán 2nd Prize of the XX ‘Arquímedes’ University Contest for Introduction to Scientific Research

On October 20 at the Ministry of Universities in Madrid, student Marina Fernández Galán was awarded the 2nd Prize of the XX ‘Arquímedes’ University Contest for Introduction to Scientific Research.

The prize was awarded by the Ministry of Universities and the CSIC, for his work entitled “Extreme self-compression of infrared laser pulses in hollow fibers with decreasing pressure gradients” developed from his final degree project under the direction of Enrique Conejero. and Julio San Román.

The complete information is available on the website of the Press Room service of the University of Salamanca and in various media outlets that have also echoed the news.

La Gaceta (24/10/2023)
Salamanca24horas (24/10/2023)
Salamanca Diario Digital (24/10/2023)

25 October, 2023 admin Awards and honours, News, Press release No comments

María Sánchez, student of the master’s degree in Physics and Technology of Lasers, obtains one of the 20 prestigious international scholarships ‘Optica Woman Scholar’

The award was awarded by the Ministry of Universities and the CSIC, for his work entitled “Extreme self-compression of infrared laser pulses in hollow fibers with decreasing pressure gradients” developed from his final degree work under the direction of Enrique Conejero. and Julio San Román.

The complete information is available on the website of the Press Room service of the University of Salamanca and in various media outlets that have also echoed the news.

La Gaceta (10/24/2023)
Salamanca24horas (10/24/2023)
Salamanca Diario Digital (10/24/2023)

28 June, 2023 admin Awards and honours, News, Press release No comments

Launch of the FASLIGHT network

The Research Network “Fundamentals and Applications of Structured Light” FASLIGHT has already started.

This network has emerged within the framework of the «Redes de Investigación» call within the framework of the Programa Estatal para Impulsar la Investigación Científico-Técnica y su Transferencia, del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023. The action will last 2 years, starting in June 2023 and has received €20,300 in funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación.

The objective of the FASLIGHT network is to create a Spanish structured light network, uniting scientific groups with diverse experience in fundamental and applied physics, but with common points in the use of structured light. For this it is intended:

Establish a collaboration framework beyond the already existing bilateral collaborations under the umbrella of structured light, in which research groups from various fields of specialization can share their work, discuss novel ideas and promote new collaborations.
Activate new collaborations between Spanish groups that make use of structured light and explore potential collaborations between distant research fields.
Promote the international visibility of Spanish groups that work within the framework of structured light.
Motivate future project proposals, including European funds such as Marie Curie ITN, PATHFINDER, etc., and national and regional funds.
Promote the use of structured light as a key transformative technology in Spain.

The FASLIGHT network is made up of the following 15 nodes:

Grupo de Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, represented by Luis Plaja Rustein, from the Universidad de Salamanca (USAL).
Estructuras fotónicas no lineales, represented by Albert Ferrando, from the Universitat de València (UV).
Engineering physics group, represented by Ángel Paredes, from the Universidad de Vigo (UVigo).
Attosecond and ultrafast x-ray optics (AUXO), represented by Antonio Picón, from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (AUM)
Grupo de Fotónica Aplicada / Applied Photonics Group, represented by David Novoa from the Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU).
Grupo de Investigación de Óptica (GROC-UJI), represented by Enrique Tajahuerce, from the Universitat Jaume I (UJI).
Grupo de investigación en luz estructurada de la Universidad de Zaragoza, represented by Francisco Javier Salgado Remacha, from the Universidad de Zaragoza (UZ)
Quantum Nanophotonics Laboratory, represented by Gabriel Molina Terriza, from the Materials Physics Center.
Grupo de Tecnología Óptica y Optoelectrónica – TecnOpto-UMH, represented by Ignacio Moreno, from the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH)
Grupo de luz estructurada UCM: Control espacial/temporal de haces láser continuo/pulsado y sus aplicaciones, represented by Jose A. Rodrigo Martín-Romo, from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Laboratorio de Óptica (LOUM), represented by Juan Manuel Bueno, from the Universidad de Murcia (UMU).
Grupo Photonics4Life, represented by María Teresa Flores Arias, from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC).
Grupo Theory for Quantum Technologies Group (TQT group), represented by Miguel Ángel García March from the Universitat Politécnica de València (UPV)
Grupo de Sistemas Complejos (GSC), represented by Miguel Ángel Porras, from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)
Grupo Quantum Atom Optics (QAOS), represented by Verònica Ahufinger, from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

1 June, 2023 admin Awards and honours, FASLIGHT_en, News No comments

Published the list of winners of the V Photo Contest “Día de la Luz”

On the occasion of the celebration on May 16 of the International Day of Light, the list of winners of the V “Day of Light” Photographic Contest organized by the Master’s Degree in Physics and Technology of Lasers (USAL – UVA) has been published. These entities and organizations also collaborate:

the ATTOSTRUCTURA project (funded by the European Innovation Council in the framework of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research program on innovation under the grant agreement ERC 851201).
the Salamanca Local Section of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.
the Spanish Society of Optics SEDOPTICA.
the magazine Óptica Pura y Aplicada.
the University Association OSAL Student Chapter.
the Supernova University Association.
the Physics League University Association.

The complete verdict can be read on the website of the Master’s Degree in Physics and Technology of Lasers.

Below we include the 4 award-winning photographs.

1st Category: Light Technologies and Optical Phenomena.

- First prize for the photograph entitled “Levitation: the magic of planet Earth” taken by D. Adrián de la Fuente Ballesteros.

Description: The image represents a hologram of planet Earth generated with a mobile phone and a piece of methacrylate in the shape of an inverted pyramid. It is a three-dimensional photograph that constitutes an optical duplicate of an object and allows it to be observed from different viewing angles.

- Second prize for the photograph entitled “A celestial reflection” taken by Ms. María Flores Ceballos.

Description: The image shows the well-known painting “The Sky of Salamanca” and its reflection created with the help of a CD, which acts as a small flat mirror. In this way, the painting apparently forms a complete circle.

2nd Category: The Laser.

- First prize for the photograph entitled “Flúor Tonic” taken by Ms. Blanca Durán Salvador.

Description: Image where fluorescence is observed when we hit the tonic with a violet laser, comparing it with a green laser for which this phenomenon does not occur.

- Second prize for the photograph entitled “Conducting the Light” taken by Mr. Mario Guerras Rodríguez.

Description: We trap laser light in a flow of water that forms a parabola towards the ground. The total reflection effect appears and the light cannot leave the water until it reaches the ground, as if it were a fiber optic cable.

Sagrados colores

$Visión de difracción$

Visión de difracción

Reflexiones

Luz liquida

Many thanks to all the participants and congratulations to the winners.

29 May, 2023 admin Awards and honours, News No comments

ALF-USAL researchers participate in the XXXVIII Biennial Meeting of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics (Murcia)

From July 11 to 15, the XXXVIII Biennial Meeting of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics was held. The Laser and Photonics Applications group (ALF – USAL) has participated in said biennial, presenting some of the most recent results of the research it is currently carrying out.

The works presented were:

Luis Sánchez-Tejerina, Rodrigo Martín-Hernández, Rocío Yanes, Luis Plaja, Luis López-Díaz, Carlos Hernández-García. “Magnetic order excitation by magnetic fields from sub-picosecond structured laser pulses”. S15 Novel frontiers and challenges in magnetism – Oral contribution. (Abstract)
Rodrigo Martín-Hernández, Luis Sánchez-Tejerina, Enrique Conejero Jarque, Luis Plaja , Carlos Hernández-García. “Spatial isolation of femtosecond magnetic needles driven by azimuthally-polarized laser beams“, S15 Novel frontiers and challenges in magnetism – Oral contribution. (Abstract). Prize for the best oral contribution in the Symposium “Novel Frontiers and Challenges in Magnetism” awarded by the Spanish chapter of IEEE Magnetics.
Miguel López-Ripa, Íñigo J. Sola, Benjamín Alonso. “In-line and ultraestable spatiotemporal characterization of constant and time-varying optical vortices“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contribution (Abstract)
V. W. Segundo Staels, E. Conejero Jarque, J. San Roman. “Use of gas-filled multipass cells to generate clean supercontinuum spectra“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contribution. (Abstract)
Luis Sánchez-Tejerina, Rodrigo Martín-Hernández, Rocío Yanes, Luis Plaja, Luis López-Díaz, Carlos Hernández-García. “Non-linear, purely magnetic magnetization response to femtosecond structured laser pulses“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contribution. (Abstract)
Rodrigo Martín-Hernández,Luis Plaja, Carlos Hernández-García. “Magnetically-pumped High Harmonic Generation with circularly polarized driving fields”, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contribution. (Abstract)
Ana García-Cabrera, Roberto Boyero-García, Óscar Zurrón Cifuentes, Julio San Román, Carlos Hernández-García, Luis Plaja. “Multi-vortex high-harmonic beams from graphene’s anisotropy“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contribution. (Abstract)
Alba de las Heras, Alok Kumar Pandey, Julio San Román, Javier Serrano, Luis Plaja. “Extreme-ultraviolet scalar and vectorial vortices with very high topological charge“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Oral contributionl. (Abstract). Winner of the “Young Researchers” contest in the student category.
Ignacio Lopez-Quintas, Warein Holgado, Rokas Drevinskas, Peter G. Kazansky, Íñigo J. Sola, Benjamín Alonso. “Collinear optical vortices with tailored topological charge generated by angular momentum transfer“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Poster. (Abstract)
Javier Serrano, Carlos Hernández-García. “High-performance simulations of high-order harmonic generation based on artificial intelligence“, S9 Quantum Optics and Nonlinear Optics – Poster. (Abstract)
Rosa Ana Pérez-Herrera, Alba de las Heras, María-Baralida Tomás, Beatriz Santamaría, Clara Benedí-García, Ana I. Gómez-Varela, Verónica González-Fernández, Martina Delgado-Pinar. “The future researchers in Optics and Photonics: gender bias in the PhD theses defended in Spain in 2015-2020“, S2 Women in Physics – Oral contribution. (Abstract).

In addition, Carlos Hernández García participated in the organization of the congress as part of the scientific committee.

25 July, 2022 admin ALF results, Awards and honours, Events and congress, Scientific outreach No comments

Published the list of winners of the VI Photo Contest “Dia de la Luz”

On the occasion of the celebration on May 16 of the International Day of Light, the list of winners of the IV “Day of Light” Photographic Contest organized by the Master’s Degree in Physics and Technology of Lasers (USAL – UVA) has been published. These entities and organizations also collaborate: