Dr. Stuart J. Pearce

Stuart is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at University of Southampton. His undergraduate degree and PhD were both completed at the University of Hull, although the latter was part time based predominately in a small laser company manufacturing short pulse diode pumped actively Q-switched solid state lasers. His PhD was based on the unique laser system the company manufactured, compact diode pumped actively Q-switched solid state lasers for sub nanosecond pulse generation, and blended a mixture of mathematical modelling and practical aspects to modify the pre-existing laser systems to produce much shorter pulses. This was an industrial fellowship funded entirely by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. Stuart is an alumni of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. After submitting his PhD in 2007, Stuart went to Japan and consequently secured a job working at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University on a cryogenic cooled Yb:YAG multi-pass amplifier laser system. This MOPA system set up by Stuart was the initial pre-amplifier design for a high power laser fusion reactor driver laser. Current work is focused on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). He is currently funded by a FP7-NMP grant titled “PhotoSENS” to investigate waveguide integrated nanostructured thin film coatings for SERS sensors applications. The overall goal of the project is to manufacture cheap disposable sensors using nanostructured polymer substrates by roll to roll and sheet level imprinting. Stuart is presently amongst other things investigating the integration of a periodic array of nanostructures within a waveguide core and probing the sensor area by waveguide core excitation using a Ti:Sapphire. His previous project at the University of Southampton was on a two year EPSRC funded investigation in to locating a suitable host material for an upconversion laser.