Moving Small Things with Light

The Optical Trapping Group, based in the School of Physics & Astronomy, works in a variety of research areas of optical physics and biophysics.  Our research is focussed on the development of optical micromanipulation techniques, the investigation of novel light fields, the characterisation of particle dynamics (at the atomic, nano, and micron scale) in optical light fields, the development of optical traps within microfluidic environments, and the exploration of novel laser techniques for cell biology and medicine.  The group is headed by Kishan Dholakia, and consists of an international mixture of multi-disciplinary research staff and PhD students.  The multi-disciplinary nature of our work is best highlighted by our integral involvement in the University of St Andrews Biophotonics Collaboration.

Our research is funded by a number of sources, including the EPSRC, the MRC, the NERC, the Leverhulme Trust, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the ESF, the European Union Framework 6 programme, Scottish Enterprise, SHEFC and the Royal Society.