Undergraduate student publishes first-authored paper in Nature series journal

An Aloysius Wang's paper was recently published in peer-reviewed journal Light: Science & Applications, a prestigious journal within the Nature series, and a leading international publication in optics renowned for its selectivity and rigorous peer-review standards.

Lou completed his MEng in Engineering Science in 2024, and his recent paper, titled ‘Topological protection of optical Skyrmions through complex media’ (now online), originates from part of his fourth-year project (4YP). Optical Skyrmions are stable, vortex-like structures found in light waves, resembling their counterparts in other physical systems. They offer unique topological properties and potential applications in optics.

The work formally defines the optical Skyrmion for the very first time and presents experimental evidence validating the topological robustness of paraxial Skyrmion beams against different polarisation aberrations. It also provides a theoretical framework for handling various perturbations of Skyrmion fields and offers guarantees of robustness in a general sense, paving the way for the use of Skyrmions in next-generation optical communications and photonic computing.

This research work was undertaken in the Vectorial Optics and Photonics Group (VOP) which has twelve members and focuses on optical techniques for vectorial beam manipulation, including structured light, structured matter, adaptive optics, and polarization sensing.

Dr. Chao He , Group leader of the VOP said: “We are very pleased that Lou’s work has been acknowledged by top experts and is published in such a world-leading optics journal. Lou is an exceptional student who is super talented, extremely self-driven and self-motivated. We are so glad he could join us and have had a good time with the group.”

“I still remember the first time I met Lou. He was a bit shy, but during discussions, he demonstrated an exceptionally sharp critical thinking ability, which left a strong impression on me. During his time in the group, he has written several first-authored papers based on his 4YP, and this paper is just one of them."

"Notably, all the reviewers of the paper gave it very high commendation. Here are some excerpts for your reference: ‘... the paper is very timely, as the topic has garnered significant interest in fields such as photonics, quantum optics, and topological physics... this is an excellent piece of work, featuring both rigorous theoretical discussions and a clear experimental demonstration...’ Endless gratitude is also extended to all of our co-authors, including Prof. Stephen Morris and Prof. Steve Elston (co-supervisors), along with Prof. Martin Booth and Dr. Patrick Salter, for their continuous help and support.”, Dr. He said.

Members of the VOP group add: “Beyond research, Lou has achieved many other remarkable feats: he ranked 1st in his cohort every year for 4 consecutive years! He also studied Mathematics at Oxford alongside his engineering degree. Additionally, he has a passion for music and even creates his own compositions. Most importantly, Lou is a warm and generous person, often helping our group members with their research and even teaching us classes on topology as ‘extra tutoring’. We all appreciate his kindness and are glad to be team members with him!” 

Upon receiving the acceptance, Lou himself said, “I would like to thank everyone in VOP who has contributed to this paper, especially Dr. He for the countless hours spent on revisions, and Zimo Zhao, Yifei Ma and Yuxi Cai for their invaluable assistance with the experiments.”

Not only has this article been selected as the Annual Back-Cover paper for 2024 in Light: Science & Applications, but is also being highlighted in a 'News & Views' by Prof. Anatoly Zayats from King's College London, a leading expert in optical Skyrmions (available online soon).