Miles J. Padgett

Miles Padgett
Born	Miles John Padgett (1963-06-01) 1 June 1963
Residence	Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality	British
Fields	Physics Optics Singular Optics Optical Tweezers Computational Imaging Quantum Optics[1]
Institutions	University of Glasgow PA Technology
Alma mater	University of Manchester University of York (BSc) University of St Andrews (MSc) University of Cambridge (PhD)[2]
Thesis	Techniques for ultra-high resolution saturation spectroscopy and laser stabilization in the 10µm spectral region (1988)
Doctoral students	Barry Jack[3]
Known for	Optical angular momentum[4] Optical tweezers
Notable awards	FRS (2014)[5] FRSE (2001) Young Medal (2009)[6]
Spouse	Heather Reid (m. 2001)[7]
Website www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/staff/milespadgett

Miles John Padgett, FRS^[5] FRSE (born 1 June 1963)^[2] is Professor of Optics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. He has held the Kelvin Chair of Natural Philosophy since 2011^{[1][8][9][10]} and has been Vice Principal for Research at Glasgow since 2014.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Education

Padgett was educated at the University of Manchester, the University of York, the University of St Andrews and Trinity College, Cambridge^[2] where he was awarded a PhD in 1988.

Research

Together with Alan James Duncan and Wilson Sibbett Padgett conducted pioneering work on optical angular momentum,^[4] for which he was awarded in 2009 the Young Medal.^[6] The research group he leads is best known for its work on the fundamental properties of light's angular momentum, including optical tweezers and optical spanners,^[17] the use of orbital angular momentum states to extend the alphabet of optical communication (with both classical and quantum light), and demonstrations of an angular form of the EPR paradox.^[18] Padgett's research has been published in leading peer reviewed scientific journals including Science,^{[19][20][21][22][23]} Nature^[24][25] Physical Review Letters,^[4] and Optics Express^[9] and Progress in Optics.^[10] Padgett's research has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).^[26]

Awards and honours

Padgett was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2001,^[27] in 2011 he was elected to fellowship of the Optical Society and in 2012 to fellowship of SPIE. In 2014 he was elected to fellowship of the Royal Society of London - the UK's national academy.^[27] His nomination for the Royal Society reads:

In 2009, with Les Allen, he won the Institute of Physics' Young Medal and in 2014 the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Kelvin Medal. In 2015 he won the Science of Light Prize from the European Physical Society.

Personal life

Padgett currently resides in Glasgow with his wife Heather Reid^[7] and their daughter.

References