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PODCAST

Rays and Waves

Rays and Waves, a passion project of two optical engineers, Daniel and Steve, who moonlight as podcast hosts. Join them as they explore the beautiful world of optics and photonics. The topics will span across the whole optical universe, demonstrating the versatile applications of optical engineering and feature prominent characters from the community. Ready to dive into the captivating world of photonics?

science physics

All Episodes

01:33:22

Metaoptics, OCT, and the Future of Lung Biopsies with...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/09/01

During a lung biopsy, physicians must navigate a needle to a suspected lesion deep within the body, often with limited visibility of the tissue directly in front of the needle tip. What if they could see exactly where they were before taking the sample?In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven sit down with Reza Khorasani, Founder and CEO of LEADOPTIK. During his postdoctoral work in Federico Capasso's group at Harvard, Reza helped pioneer metaoptics and metalenses through several

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01:34:08

Interferometry for Precision Metrology with Zygo’s...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/07/21

While massive interferometers orbit the earth or span kilometers to detect gravitational waves, the real workhorses of optical metrology live quietly on the benches of optical labs and manufacturing floors worldwide. These instruments are not measuring black hole mergers, but they are the reason the high-performance optics inside our semiconductors, aerospace systems, and consumer electronics actually work.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven sit down with Xavier Colonna De Lega,

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00:41:28

Binoculars, an optical superpower through engineering...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/06/16

A pair of binoculars might be the closest thing to a superpower you can buy. That is how a friend once described them while gifting a pair to his wife, and it is easy to see why.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven explore the surprisingly rich optical engineering behind binoculars. From magnification and aperture to prisms, coatings, and color performance, we follow the history of binoculars.What seems simple is full of clever design trade‑offs. This episode connects everyday optics

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01:51:48

A space telescope architect’s odyssey from Hubble to...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/05/12

From Hubble’s breathtaking images to the deep infrared view of the James Webb Space Telescope, space-based observatories have transformed how we see the universe. They reveal black holes, probe dark energy, trace the birth of stars, and even let us study the atmospheres of distant planets, pushing astronomy into entirely new territory.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven sit down with Lee Feinberg, a true veteran of space telescope engineering. Lee joined NASA during the Hubble era

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01:33:32

Project Silica and the future of data storage with...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/04/06

In a quiet laboratory, bursts of ultrafast laser light are etching humanity’s information deep inside glass, layer by layer, voxel by voxel. Long after today’s hard drives and magnetic tapes have failed, this glass may still faithfully preserve our data, readable thousands of years into the future.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven dive into Microsoft Research’s Project Silica with their Senior Optical Engineer James Clegg. This is an ambitious effort to redefine cold data storage

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01:36:57

LIGO and the birth of gravitational-wave astronomy...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/03/10

1.3 billion years ago, two black holes collided in a distant galaxy, sending ripples through the fabric of spacetime. On September 14, 2015, those ripples finally reached Earth and humanity detected gravitational waves for the very first time.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven sit down with Dr. Gabriele Vajente, Deputy Head of Systems Science and Engineering at LIGO, who was a postdoc on the project during that historic detection. For more than fifteen years, Gabriele has been at

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01:15:28

Optical tweezers with Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop - Ep...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/02/10

In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven take a nostalgic dive back into the world where they both began their scientific journeys: optical tweezers. These remarkable tools, using tightly focused laser beams to exert forces and torques on microscopic objects, have transformed how we manipulate cells, DNA, bacteria, and so much more. Their invention by Arthur Ashkin in 1986 ultimately earned him the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, and today, optical manipulation stands as a thriving field

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01:22:39

An Optomechanics Bootcamp with Nathan Wallace - Ep 11...

Rays and Waves ·

2026/01/13

When we think about optical systems, lenses and light often steal the spotlight. But behind every high-performance optical instrument lies a critical foundation: Optomechanics. From precision mounts to thermal stability, the mechanical design determines whether an optical system performs flawlessly or fails spectacularly.In this episode of Rays and Waves, Daniel and Steven sit down with Nathan Wallace, an optomechanical expert from Optikos, to explore the art and science of building the structures

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01:45:46

AI in Optical Engineering Panel Discussion - Ep 10 -...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/12/09

The current narrative is that Artificial Intelligence is reshaping industries at breakneck speed. Is optics no exception? In this special episode of Rays and Waves Daniel and Steven host the show's very first panel discussion! They bring together six experts from across the optics landscape to try to understand: How will AI change optical engineering?From accelerating lens design to enabling smarter photonic systems, AI promises breakthroughs but also raises big questions about trust, transparency,

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00:48:35

An Unsung Hero: Optical Standards with Eric Herman -...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/11/04

Standards may not grab headlines, but they quietly shape the world. In this episode of Rays and Waves, we shine a light on the unsung hero of modern optical engineering: optical standards.From the fiber optics enabling global connectivity, via laser grocery scanners, to the precision lenses the James Webb telescope, none of it works without agreed-upon rules and measurements. These standards ensure interoperability, safety, and reliability across millions of devices.Joining Daniel and Steve is Eric

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00:51:30

Erwin De Baetselier and Luceda's first-time-right...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/10/07

In this episode, we sit down with Erwin De Baetselier, the CEO of Luceda, a company at the forefront of software innovation for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). As PICs continue to reshape the landscape of optical systems—from data centers to quantum labs—the tools used to design and simulate them are becoming just as critical as the hardware itself.Luceda’s software empowers engineers and researchers to model, optimize, and scale photonic designs with precision and speed. We dive into how their

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00:43:21

Miniaturising Optics with Photonic Integrated...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/09/16

In this episode, we explore the rise of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), which aim to compress the sprawling optical setups found on lab benches into compact, chip-scale systems. These integrated platforms are becoming foundational for technologies like high-speed data communication, LIDAR, optical quantum computing, AR/VR, and biotech diagnostics—where size, modularity, and manufacturability are critical.We take a closer look at how PICs are built, what makes them so transformative, and why the

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00:58:14

Gerard Milburn's Path to Photonic Quantum Computing...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/06/10

In the last episode of Rays and Waves about linear optical quantum computers we discussed how using photons as qubits is good in many ways. However, the biggest hurdle is that photons don’t like interacting with each other, which makes the critical two-qubit gates difficult to create. But a 2001 discovery showed it was in fact possible to effectively make two-qubit interactions and therefore a full quantum computer solely with linear optical elements, single photon sources and detectors. This

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00:30:11

Optical Quantum Computers - Ep 5 - Rays and Waves

Rays and Waves ·

2025/05/06

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Linear Optical Quantum Computers. There has been lots of talk about quantum computers in the science media lately. Both companies and academic labs are hard at work to build the sought-after fault-tolerant quantum computer.As it turns out, one approach to building quantum computers is with optics. Join us as we explore the pros and cons with this light-based approach to quantum computers.If you like the show, tell your friends and colleagues about it

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00:50:35

Tracing 'A Pencil of Rays' with Katsumoto Ikeda - Ep...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/03/25

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak to Katsumoto Ikeda. Kats runs a brilliant webpage about optical design called “A Pencil of Rays” (https://www.pencilofrays.com/). He has worked as an optical designer for well over a decade. and is now the Application Engineer Manager at Ansys in Japan. Join Daniel, Steven, and Kats in a riveting conversation about optical design.If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an

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00:55:53

Mark Nicholson's Optical Design Journey - Ep 3 - Rays...

Rays and Waves ·

2025/02/18

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak to Mark Nicholson. Few people have made a bigger impact on how modern optics is designed and analysed. Mark was for 30 years involved with Zemax, one of the optical design software giants on the market. Nowadays Mark is retired, but continues to heavily impact the optics industry by running a YouTube channel called Design Optics Fast which teaches a modern approach to optical design. Join Daniel and Steve as they quiz Mark on his career and best advice to

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00:04:53

Introducing 'Rays and Waves' - A New Optics Podcast

Rays and Waves ·

2025/01/17

In this episode of Rays and Waves we get to know the podcast purpose and the hosts a bit. Join Daniel and Steve in the episodes to come as they explore the vast world of optics.If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an email on rays.and.waves.podcast@gmail.com Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!

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00:33:40

Optical Design - Ep 2 - Rays and Waves

Rays and Waves ·

2025/01/17

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Optical Design. Optical products are all around us, ranging from phones, cameras, cars, communication, grocery shopping, medical devices, and almost everything in between. How to design them? Join Daniel and Steve as they explore optical design from fundamentals of the thin lens equation learned in high school physics to how high-level optical systems are designed today. If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all

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00:41:58

Optical Communication - Ep 1 - Rays and Waves

Rays and Waves ·

2025/01/17

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Optical Communication. Join Daniel and Steve as they explore how information transfer through hair-thin glass fibres are changing the world. While data rates have grown by over 10 billion times since the first commercial systems we are still signalling the fall of Troy with fire beacons by blinking lights on and off, only mind-numbingly fast! If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in

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19 results

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