John C. Travers

John C. Travers is a Professor of Physics at Heriot-Watt University and director of the Laboratory of Ultrafast Physics and Optics (LUPO). He specializes in creating tailored light sources with extreme spectral and temporal properties, contributing significantly to ultrafast nonlinear optics and hollow waveguide technology.

• Education: M.Sci in Mathematics and Physics (Durham University, 2003), M.Sc (Imperial College London, 2004), Ph.D (Imperial College London, 2008)

His research focuses on nonlinear optics, emphasizing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and mid-infrared (MIR) light sources, soliton dynamics in hollow capillaries, and ultrafast pulse generation. These systems enable advanced applications in spectroscopy, plasma physics, and semiconductor/healthcare industries. Recent work includes Bayesian optimization of resonant dispersive waves and attosecond pulse studies.

Selected scientific awards include the European Physical Society’s Quantum Electronics Thesis Prize (2008), ERC Starting Grant (2015), ERC Consolidator Grant (2020), and the IET A F Harvey Engineering Research Prize (2022). His lab’s research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals for advanced industrial and healthcare technologies.

Collaborations span multiple institutions, with recent contributions to ultrafast molecular spectroscopy, high-harmonic generation (HHG), and vanadium dioxide phase transitions. His team has co-authored breakthroughs in hollow fiber-based light sources, including decoupled few-femtosecond phase transitions and terawatt-scale optical attosecond pulses.