Olav Gaute Hellesø

Olav Gaute Hellesø is a Professor and Head of the Department of Physics and Technology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, where he has been employed since 1998 and led the department since 2021. He is a member of the Ultrasound, Microwaves and Optics research group, focusing on integrated optics and optical trapping of micro- and nanoparticles.

• Education: Cand. Scient. from University of Bergen (1989), DEA and Dr. from INP de Grenoble, France (1990, 1994)

His research spans photonics applications in biomedical engineering, including Raman spectroscopy for extracellular vesicle analysis, metasurface-based optical trapping, and waveguide sensor development. Recent publications highlight innovations in dielectric nanotweezers, BIC-supported trapping systems, and self-supervised learning for spectral analysis.

Collaborators include Md Rabiul Hasan, Mathias Novik Jensen, and Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia, with work featured in Nature Photonics, Optics Express, and ACS Applied Optical Materials. His team explores optical manipulation of biological nanoparticles, methane detection via cryptophane-cladded interferometers, and crystalline structure quality assessment using near-infrared tomography.

As department head, Hellesø coordinates research in integrated optics and photonics. His laboratory in Teknologibygget Tromsø 3.060 focuses on photonic chip technologies for particle trapping and spectroscopic analysis. Current projects include optimizing metasurface sensitivity, developing low-noise Raman systems, and advancing on-chip methane sensors.