Graham Bruce

Dr Graham Bruce is a Senior Research Laboratory Manager in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, affiliated with the Optical Manipulation Group and the Centre for Biophotonics. His research focuses on advanced optical techniques, including laser manipulation of atoms and particles, speckle-based metrology, and holographic beam shaping, with applications in quantum physics and biomedical imaging. He leads experimental setups involving optical tweezers, light-sheet microscopy, and precision laser systems.

Key achievements include developing a femtometer-resolved speckle wavemeter and winning the 2020 STEM for Britain Silver Medal. He supervises PhD students in quantum gas microscopy and optical trapping. Bruce collaborates internationally on projects like the BBSRC-funded optical tweezers-confocal microscope for cellular mechanobiology and participates in exhibitions showcasing scientific innovation.

His work bridges fundamental optics research with applied technologies, such as Raman spectroscopy for whisky authentication and deep learning-enhanced speckle analysis. He actively engages in public science outreach and has published extensively in Nature Communications, Nature Physics, and Optics Letters.