Staliunas, Kestutis
ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
Engineering Sciences
Short biography
Graduated Theoretical Physics, Vilnius University, Lithuania, 1985. PhD in Physics, Vilnius University, 1989. Habilitation in Physics, Vilnius University, 2001. A.v. Humboldt fellow in Physikalisch-Technische Bundesantstalt (PTB) Braunschweig, Germany, 1991-1992. Between 1993-2003 senior research fellow in Braunschweig PTB and University of Hannover on nonlinear pattern formation in laser systems and Bose condensates. Since 2004 ICREA research professor in Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, head of research group on lasers, photonics and meta-photonics, nonlinear laser dynamics. Professional experience: around 250 articles in scientific journals with appr. 6000 citations (h-factor 43); appr. 500 presentations in conferences (more than 100 invited ones); 2 patents, 2 monographs. Up to now directed (or currently directing) 17 PhD projects.
Research interests
Spatial quality of laser beams is of high importance in technologies: good quality beams propagate better collimated, can be more tight focused. Not all lasers, however, produce good beams: the radiation of especially very important semiconductor microlasers, microchip lasers, are too random and divergent. We develop new physical concepts and new techniques to manipulate the spatial structure of radiation, by using micro-modulated smart photonic materials: photonic crystals, metamaterials, nonhermitian optical materials. We develop these novel light-manipulation techniques in fundamental level and implement them in photonic industry. Also the good quality beams of microwaves, sound waves, or matter waves are required. We apply our experience in "smart manipulation of light patterns" to the other types of waves, to produce "clean" and well directed sound beams by so called "sonic crystals" in acoustics, as well as "clean" matter wave ensembles in modulated Bose condensates.