Positions

 

MSc and PhD grants and positions

LOLS is happy to receive expressions of interest from MSc students, PhD candidates and post-docs. Some financial capacity is available to fund outstanding students and promising researchers and professionals! (send CV)

Our research projects are optics and optical instrumentation oriented, in different fields of knowledge or application. Typically, they comprise the design and implementation of optical systems, development of methodologies for optical metrology, monitoring and analysis, and/or simulation of optical processes.  Instrumentation includes data pipelines and overall instrument management (calibration and operations), therefore also requiring from candidates, signal and image processing capabilities or, at least, interest to learn and be proficient in high level programming languages (Matlab, LabView, or similar).

Most of our activities are associated to ESA, ESO and EDA programs, in cooperation with international R&D institutions. In the case of ESA and EDA, we have additional projects related to navigation techniques, with a stronger emphasis on signal processing.

For post-docs, only: We are willing to consider proposals from candidates on additional optical-related research topics, provided they fit our strategy and our lab facilities can be used or, at least, adapted to the (required) experimental part. In specific cases, we may afford to provide a small level of initial investment in instrumentation or experimental facilities, to enable launching of new research areas, while more significant funding is being procured by the researcher.

MSc THEMES (examples)

  • Low resolution interferometry with CO2 lasers (contact)
  • Optical metrology and geodetic compensation for constellations of satellites: integration of angular and length measurements (contact)
  • Optical Techniques to characterize cultural heritage objects (contact)
  • Wavefront sensors and adaptive optics actuators (contact)
  • Cosmology and computational geometry (contact)
  • Implementation of the retina of a human eye as an optical medium in the simulator dEYEnamic (contact)
  • Parkinson’s disease measurement system using a laser pattern (contact)
  • Development of a laser alignment system for positioning patients during PEM examinations (contact)
  • Ground-level, line-of-sight atmospheric calibration using Michelson interferometry - a feasibility study (contact)

 

PhD THEMES (LOLS / IA/ IBEB  positions)

  • Intelligent & adaptive focal plane architectures (contact)
     
  • Methodologies to scale-down (multi-aperture) instruments to assess experimental performances and validate simulation models (contact)
    • Pixel level adaptive spectrometry using MOEMS
    • FOV selection & dynamic steering of patterns of point-like objects using Diffractive / holographic MOEMS
    • Optical Focal Volume Active Technology for fine-positioning sensors in focal volume
    • Temporal pre-shaping of fs laser pulses to mitigate turbulence for ground-based astronomy adaptive optics
       
  • MOEMS - Micro-Optical-Electromechanical Systems (contact)
    • Flexibility, adaptibility, programability, low weight, volume, compensation: aberrations, deviations, switching: polarization, optical channels (FOV), filtering: spectral, polarization, FOV, straylight, ...
    • Examples: pupil scanning mechanisms à Adaptive optics, exit window flexibility à FOV selection, fine positions sensors in focal plane à compensation, pixel level spectrometers (Fabry-Perot pixels)
       
  • Pico-second laser stability for high accuracy metrology (contact)
     
  • Concentration of light in turbid media for biological applications (contact)
     
  • Laser machining of optical fiber-based sensors (contact)
     
  • Ground-level, line-of-sight atmospheric calibration using Michelson interferometry (contact)