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Meet Dr Emilio Pisanty

11 February 2026

Technology & Science

Dr Emilio Pisanty’s research explores how matter interacts with very short and intense pulses of light. By using advanced technologies, he investigates how light can be used to observe and even influence and control the motion of molecules, atoms and electrons on their natural timescales, deepening our understanding of the fundamental processes that govern the physical world.

Dr Pisanty explains: "Light has long been one of our most powerful tools for understanding the structure and behaviour of matter. In more recent years, we have developed light pulses that are short enough to let us effectively ‘film’ the dynamics of nature’s fundamental building blocks - molecules, atoms and electrons. These pulses can also now be intense enough to directly influence and control how those dynamics unfold.

“To study how matter and light interact at the most basic level, I use tools from across optical disciplines. These includes the quantum nature of radiation - which help us gain sharper insights into how matter behaves, as well as tools that describe what happens when multiple light rays converge at a single point – known as a “caustic”. I explore how these concepts can be applied not only to light, but also to the wave nature of electrons.

“As a blue-skies theorist, my primary goal is to deepen our understanding of the core building blocks of the world around us - molecules, and the atoms, nuclei and electrons they encompass – as well as of light itself.

My research aims to answer fundamental questions about the nature of the world around us - questions that matter in their own right but are also a deep part of what makes us human– Dr Emilio Pisanty

“The answers to the questions I seek to understand also have practical applications. Examples of these include the development of new spectroscopic tools that chemists, biologists and pharmaceutical manufacturers can use to improve their work, or new sources of short-wavelength light that enable technological advances such as better microchip manufacturing.

“My research draws on ideas from many different subdisciplines within the broader field optics. In particular, I work closely with concepts from “singular optics”, which studies structures such as optical vortices in light beams; “catastrophe optics”, a fancy name for the study of how light waves behave around caustics and how interfering rays shape those patterns; and “quantum optics”, which explores properties of light that are governed by quantum mechanics and go beyond classical descriptions.

“King’s is a great place to work. In particular, the Photonics & Nanotechnology group and the attosecond-science teams are a thriving environment of ideas and cutting-edge science, and I feel lucky to be here.”