A Nottingham Trent University researcher is to receive an award for developing a technique to steer beams of light.
Dr Gary Wells, who worked alongside fellow physicists Prof Carl Brown, Prof Glen McHale and Dr Mike Newton, will receive the Society for Information Displays (SID) 'Sharp-SID Best Student Award 2010'.
The technique creates and uses wrinkles in the surface of a microscopically thin layer of oil to redirect beams of light.
Being able to control and manipulate the direction of light in this way opens up a range of possibilities for high-technology developments.
Using optical switches to enhance the speed of broadband internet is one possibility, with the technique proving to be much faster than many existing methods using mechanical switches.
Other possibilities include its use in electronic information displays.
