Ultrashort pulse laser-matter interaction: intense foundations to practical applications

“科学是一条管道”是这样一个概念：通常情况下，好奇心驱动的发现研究提供了想法、理解和概念，最终将其转化为创新、商业影响和社会效益。我和我的团队成员的研究始于极短的强激光脉冲与物质之间相互作用的科学。最基本的，我感兴趣的是光和物质之间的关系是如何变化的——质的，根本上的——在地球上任何人都能产生的最强烈的光的情况下。***我们学习的东西，以及我们在此过程中开发的技术和工具，然后我们可以用于创造性创新。我和我的团队采用了我们开发的新的物理知识，并将其作为发明新型激光材料加工的基础。我们还利用我们在激光材料加工中发现的新科学来创造新的、侵入性更小的方法来做关节镜膝盖手术，使用非常短的快速脉冲。***超强激光-物质相互作用：我最基本的和好奇心驱动的物理，需要访问世界上最高强度的激光，在法国，英国和美国，以及在国内的机会。我们的理论工作需要使用功能极其强大的多处理器计算机来运行模拟，尽管我们也需要用笔和纸来解决一些问题。多年来，他在原子物理学、非线性光学、相对论激光等离子体物理学和天体物理学等领域做出了贡献。它也为我的具有商业意义的应用物理研究提供了基础。***超短脉冲强光学物理的应用：这个基础科学项目总是非常密切地通知我所做的应用物理研究，更接近家庭。我们使用同样的超快激光器，但没有达到世界上最高的光学强度。这些激光器，基本技术相同，我们发明或购买并在我自己的实验室里操作。我们不断发现定性的新方法来“处理”材料和生物组织：修改结构，改变功能，减轻问题，创造新的机会，新的工具，新的方法。这为各种各样的学生提供了一个绝佳的机会，让他们在物理学、医学生物物理学和光学方面有深入的了解，同时支持大多数人以他们能想到的最重要的方式为社会做出贡献。***是什么统一了所有这些努力——是什么创造了由CHRP或NSERC战略基金资助的研究项目，是什么导致了NSERC参与和工业合作伙伴的直接支持，是什么反过来从这些其他来源中受益，是什么把所有这些联系在一起——是NSERC发现项目的资金。“Des chercheurs qui cherchent, on en trouve。”Des chercherurs qui trouvent, on en cherche。”——戴高乐

"Science is a Pipeline" is the concept that more often than not it's basic curiosity-driven discovery research that supplies the ideas, the understanding, and the concepts which eventually make their way into innovation, commercial impact and social benefits.***My research, with my team members, begins with the science of the interaction between extremely short pulses of intense laser light and matter. At its most basic, I'm interested in how the relationships between light and matter change -- qualitatively, fundamentally -- in the case of the most intense light anyone can produce on Earth. ***The things we learn, and the techniques and tools we develop along the way, we're then able to use towards creative innovations. My team and I have taken new physics-knowledge we've developed, and used it as a foundation to invent new kinds of laser materials-processing. We've also used the new science we've found in laser materials-processing to create new and less-invasive ways to do arthroscopic knee surgery, using rapid trains of very short pulses.***Ultra-intense laser-matter interaction: My most basic and curiosity-driven physics, needs access to the highest-intensity lasers worldwide, taking opportunities in France, the UK, and the USA, as well as at home. Our theoretical work needs access to extremely powerful multi-processor computers to run simulations, though we also work some problems with pen and paper. For some years, this has made contributions in atomic physics, nonlinear optics, relativistic laser-plasma physics and astrophysics. It has also provided the foundations of my commercially significant applied-physics research.***Applications of ultrashort-pulse intense optical physics: This foundational science program always very closely informs the applied-physics research I do, closer to home. We use the same kind of ultrafast lasers, but not scaled to the world's highest optical intensities. These lasers, of the same basic technology, we invent or buy and operate in my own laboratories. We consistently discover qualitatively new ways to 'treat' materials and biotissues: modifying structure, changing functionality, mitigating problems and creating new opportunities, new tools, new approaches. This gives students of all kinds -- and driven by different career goals -- an exceptional opportunity to develop their deep understanding in physics, medical biophysics and optics, while supporting the ambition of most to contribute to society in the most important ways they can imagine.***What unifies all of these efforts -- what has created research projects funded by CHRP or NSERC-Strategic funding, led to NSERC-Engage and direct support from industrial partners, what has in turn benefitted from these other sources, and what also ties all of it together -- has been NSERC Discovery program funding.***"Des chercheurs qui cherchent, on en trouve. Des chercheurs qui trouvent, on en cherche." -Charles de Gaulle