Ivan Ruddock
Reader

Research

Ivan Ruddock's research has concentrated on laser physics, passive and synchronous modelocking, nonlinear optics, single crystal fibres, and optical fibres. His postgraduate research culminated in what was effectively the world’s first femtosecond laser, with which he held the world record for the shortest pulses for a number of years. Later work focused on the nonlinear and birefringent characterisation of crystal fibres; in particular, the propagation characteristics of crystal fibre and the feasibility of phase conjugate cavities for lasers based on doped samples. By post-growth lithium out-diffusion, lithium niobate fibres with a gradient index for the extraordinary polarisation have been produced and demonstrated as miniature crystal fibre polarisers for in-line optical fibre applications. Other related work has involved the growth of periodically poled crystal fibres for frequency doubling and imaging in conventional gradient index fibres. The principles of holography have also been applied to biological systems to create ordered arrays of algae as a means of investigating their phototactic response.

Highlights

Co-inventor (with Thomas Han) of a new class of distributed optical fibre sensor (2006).

First gradient index crystal fibres and their application as miniature polarisers (late 1990s).

First investigation of crystal fibre properties and the use of phase conjugation in their simplification (mid 1990s-2000)

Use of living organisms for the recording of a hologram (and the Physics Department’s first article in Nature!) (1990s)

First femtosecond laser (passively modelocked cw dye) (1970s).

International Programme Committee for IASTED (International Association of Science and Technology for Development) International Conferences on Optical Communication Systems and Networks, Banff, Canada, 2006-.

Executive Committee of EUPEN (European  Physics Education Network), 2005-

Fellow of Institute of Physics and Fellow of Higher Education Academy.

Keynote speaker and leader of workshops on the teaching of optoelectronics at the IV International Conference on Physics Education, Colonia, Uruguay, 1998.

Principal speaker at the Workshop on Laser Physics and Applications in Qatar, 1994 and awarded the University of Qatar’s Commemorative Medal.

Appearing on BBC’s Tomorrow’s World to demonstrate ‘laser isotope separation’ with a tuneable dye laser.