In this live session, you’ll hear from Prof. Derryck Reid of Heriot-Watt University about the exciting work that his research group is doing in the field of photonics. From searching for exoplanets to microscopy, find out how their ultra-precise lasers are helping us understand the world around us.

Professor Derryck Reid leads a laser research group at Heriot-Watt University, where his team build lasers producing extremely short pulses of light — much shorter than one millionth of one millionth of one second. These lasers have applications in the precision measurement of distance and of wavelength (the colour of light), as well as uses in biological microscopy.