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Case study: photonics 1 6 Taking photonics into the future Hugo Thienpont talks to Anna Demming about the importance of collaboration for the continued success of t he phot onic s s ec t o r t i e n p o n T h H u g o P h o t o n i c s r e s e a r c h i n E u r o p e i s t h r i v i n g , w i t h numerous groups across different countries connecting together, and contributing a unique strand of expertise that advances knowledge and understanding across the field. But it has not always been this way, and Hugo Thienpont, director of photonics research at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, worries that fresh challenges may yet threaten this golden age of collaboration and progress. Photonics research in Europe has long been a competitive business. Such compet i t i o n c an s pu r o n r e s e a r c h g r o up s t o a c h i e v e more than their rivals, but it doesn’t always foster a working environment that boosts the whole field. Groups vie with each other to be the f irst to publish, potentially wasting valuable resources, funding and energy. In 2003, Thienpont therefore proposed a bold plan to establish a network that would help photonics researchers to work together – sharing best practices and expensive equipment while making sure that each group focuses on what it does best, something that has become known as “smart specialization”. But restructuring the research landscape across an entire continent was no mean feat, particularly for a young professor. “It was very, very bold to make that move,” s a y s T h i e np o n t . “ I had a v i s i o n and an approach that I think a lot of people liked, so they gave me the opportunity to collaborate with them to make i t happen.” The result was the Network of Excellence on Micro-optics or “NEMO”, which received €6.4m from the European Commission, and ran from 2004 to 2010, with 30 member groups from 13 countries. More recently, Thienpont has become co-ordinator of ACTPHAST 4.0 (ACceleraTing PHotonics innovAtion for SMEs: a one STop-shopi n c ub a t o r ) – an i n c ub a t o r f o r pho t on i c s i nno Captain NEMO Hugo T hienpont has helmed t he r es t r uc t ur ing of t he photonic s r esear ch. vation focusing on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. Teamwork makes the dream work The same love and aptitude for working with people has helped Thienpont to build the small r e s ear ch g r oup he s e t up i n 1990, a f t e r completing his PhD, into the Brussels Photonics Team – a globally acclaimed photonics centre with around 60 researchers and s t a f f . C r u c i a l t o h i s s u c c e s s ha s b e e n a s t r o n g strategic vision, along with plenty of perseverance and passion, but he clearly values working with his team. “What really matters, I think, is the joy of working with people on a daily basis,” he says. “You improve your own skills and those of others by collaborating.” P h o t o n i c s r e s e a r c h a t t h e V r i j e Un i v e r s i t e i t B r u s s e l f o c u s e s o n m i c r o l a s e r s ; g r ap h e n e a s a nonlinear optical material; optical devices for medical applications; optical fibre sensors for measuring temperature, pressure and strain; and free-form optics – a lens technology that abandons the traditional spherical shape to avoid optical aberrations. Despite significant metrology and fabrication challenges, Thienpont describes free-form optics as “the next revolution in opt ical lenses”. He also has clear ideas about what is needed to revolutionize the photonics sector as a whole. “The real challenge lies in the interdisciplinary aspects for photonics,” says Thienpont, who cites the “key enabling technologies” (KETs) that have been identified by the European Commission as drivers of society and economy, along with the “cross-KETs” where these technologies work together, and where he believes photonics can play a crucial role. “We need to revolutionize photonics not only as a key enabling technology, but also to link it up to all the other key enabling technologies such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, and new materials to create biophotonics, nano p h o t o n i c s , l a s e r s i n manu f a c t u r i n g , and o p t ical materials.” This faith in the potential impact of interdisciplinary photonics research persuaded T h i e np o n t t o a c c e p t t h e r o l e o f e d i t o r - i n - c h i e f of the recently launched JPhys Photonics from IOP Publishing (which also publishes Physics World). “When asked about this new journal for photonics, I said I will accept this with great pleasure but on one condition – that we make it the first truly interdisciplinary journal for photonics. Because that’s the future.” Open your minds Thienpont concedes that truly interdisciplinary work is not easy – not least because different disciplines use their own scientific Physics World  Careers 2020 In association with brightrecruits
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language, but also because students are generally not educated to think beyond their own subject. In many ways the more specialized a field becomes, he thinks the greater the challenge for work that crosses more than one area of expertise. “It’s so easy to f a l l b a c k o n wha t y o u k n ow b e s t and n o t o p e n your mind to what others know best to see whether we can do things together,” he says. “So we’re going to work really hard to make interdisciplinarity the key feature of the JPhys Photonics.” T h i e np o n t ’ s p a s s i o n an d z e a l f o r p h o t o n i c s was first kindled by a childhood obsession with science fiction, in particular Star Trek. “In those days, lasers were gimmicks – fascinating, but only used in science fiction,” he says. “I wanted to turn that science fiction into reality.” He lists many different technologies that first appeared in the cult fictional TV show nearly 40 years ago, that have since become a reality – everything from tractor b e ams and l a s e r c u t t e r s , t o s p e c i a l f l a t - p an e l displays. Indeed, many of the researchers he speaks to at conferences were “Trekkies” too, so perhaps it’s no coincidence that Star Trek ha s p r o v e d s u c h an a c c u r a t e f o r e c a s t f o r new technologies. But Thienpont is concerned that the next generation of photonics researchers are not fired with the same enthusiasm. “Think Optics and photonics are so disruptive, so positively engaging. But I don’t think that the majority of young people are impressed about the exoplanets, everything that happens with the elementary particles, all the fantastic things that optics and photonics can do in the medical world, all the breakthroughs that are bettering cancer research – i t ’s just so disruptive, so positively engaging,” he says. “But I don’t think that the majority of young people are impressed. We’re currently creating a society that is built on knowledge and innovation, but I think that we are not going to have the workforce to sustain i t in the near future.” These concerns have made Thienpont committed to nurturing the talents of young scientists, and together with his colleagues he has put in place an internationally rec- ognized Master’s programme in photonics at Vrije Universiteit and Ghent University in Brussels. As vice-rector of the Vrije Universiteit, he has also been instructed to boost c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h i n d u s t r y. H e c o n s i d e r s p r omoting the economic and societal value of research as key to this role, and has worked closely with big industry players including Barco, Agfa-Gevaert, Commscope, Punch Graphix and Umicore, accruing 21 patents to his name. Embrace others Thienpont clearly has plenty to fill his time. While no two days are the same, he can often be found giving keynote talks, working on panels to restructure the research and innovation ecosystem of Europe, or setting up new finance and support mechanisms. His advice for the photonics trailblazers of the future is to pursue their career with passion, perseverance and patience, but above all to embrace opportunities to work with other people. “I think every day is worth living, and living for research means teaming up with others,” says Thienpont. “For me, research comes second. The first thing is working together with people.” Anna Demming i s a sc ience wr i t er based in Br i s t ol, UK 1 7 In association with brightrecruits Physics World  Careers 2020

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Case study: photonics

1 6

Taking photonics into the future

Hugo Thienpont talks to Anna Demming about the importance of collaboration for the continued success of t he phot onic s s ec t o r t i e n p o n

T h

H u g o

P h o t o n i c s r e s e a r c h i n E u r o p e i s t h r i v i n g , w i t h numerous groups across different countries connecting together, and contributing a unique strand of expertise that advances knowledge and understanding across the field. But it has not always been this way, and Hugo Thienpont, director of photonics research at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, worries that fresh challenges may yet threaten this golden age of collaboration and progress.

Photonics research in Europe has long been a competitive business. Such compet i t i o n c an s pu r o n r e s e a r c h g r o up s t o a c h i e v e more than their rivals, but it doesn’t always foster a working environment that boosts the whole field. Groups vie with each other to be the f irst to publish, potentially wasting valuable resources, funding and energy.

In 2003, Thienpont therefore proposed a bold plan to establish a network that would help photonics researchers to work together – sharing best practices and expensive equipment while making sure that each group focuses on what it does best, something that has become known as “smart specialization”. But restructuring the research landscape across an entire continent was no mean feat, particularly for a young professor. “It was very, very bold to make that move,” s a y s T h i e np o n t . “ I had a v i s i o n and an approach that I think a lot of people liked, so they gave me the opportunity to collaborate with them to make i t happen.”

The result was the Network of Excellence on Micro-optics or “NEMO”, which received €6.4m from the European Commission, and ran from 2004 to 2010, with 30 member groups from 13 countries. More recently, Thienpont has become co-ordinator of ACTPHAST 4.0 (ACceleraTing PHotonics innovAtion for SMEs: a one STop-shopi n c ub a t o r ) – an i n c ub a t o r f o r pho t on i c s i nno

Captain NEMO Hugo T hienpont has helmed t he r es t r uc t ur ing of t he photonic s r esear ch.

vation focusing on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.

Teamwork makes the dream work The same love and aptitude for working with people has helped Thienpont to build the small r e s ear ch g r oup he s e t up i n 1990, a f t e r completing his PhD, into the Brussels Photonics Team – a globally acclaimed photonics centre with around 60 researchers and s t a f f . C r u c i a l t o h i s s u c c e s s ha s b e e n a s t r o n g strategic vision, along with plenty of perseverance and passion, but he clearly values working with his team. “What really matters, I think, is the joy of working with people on a daily basis,” he says. “You improve your own skills and those of others by collaborating.”

P h o t o n i c s r e s e a r c h a t t h e V r i j e Un i v e r s i t e i t B r u s s e l f o c u s e s o n m i c r o l a s e r s ; g r ap h e n e a s a nonlinear optical material; optical devices for medical applications; optical fibre sensors for measuring temperature, pressure and strain; and free-form optics – a lens technology that abandons the traditional spherical shape to avoid optical aberrations. Despite significant metrology and fabrication challenges, Thienpont describes free-form optics as “the next revolution in opt ical lenses”.

He also has clear ideas about what is needed to revolutionize the photonics sector as a whole. “The real challenge lies in the interdisciplinary aspects for photonics,” says Thienpont, who cites the “key enabling technologies” (KETs) that have been identified by the European Commission as drivers of society and economy, along with the “cross-KETs” where these technologies work together, and where he believes photonics can play a crucial role. “We need to revolutionize photonics not only as a key enabling technology, but also to link it up to all the other key enabling technologies such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, and new materials to create biophotonics, nano p h o t o n i c s , l a s e r s i n manu f a c t u r i n g , and o p t ical materials.”

This faith in the potential impact of interdisciplinary photonics research persuaded T h i e np o n t t o a c c e p t t h e r o l e o f e d i t o r - i n - c h i e f of the recently launched JPhys Photonics from IOP Publishing (which also publishes Physics World). “When asked about this new journal for photonics, I said I will accept this with great pleasure but on one condition – that we make it the first truly interdisciplinary journal for photonics. Because that’s the future.”

Open your minds Thienpont concedes that truly interdisciplinary work is not easy – not least because different disciplines use their own scientific

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In association with brightrecruits

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