VUB B-PHOT, With Yerevan State University, Co-Hosted the Siegman School on Lasers

From July 27 to August 2, 2025, Yerevan State University, in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Brussel, hosted Optica’s annual Siegman International School on Lasers. This year, the school was chaired by Tatevik Chalyan, researcher at Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT) at VUB and Optica Ambassador, Heidi Ottevaere, Head of the Applied Physics and Photonics Department at VUB and Mushegh Rafayelyan, Head of the PhotonicsAI Laboratory at Yerevan State University.

In addition to chairing the event, nine representatives from B-PHOT contributed in various roles, including invited speakers such as Tigran Baghdasaryan, Pablo Marin-Palomo, and Astghik Chalyan, session chairs like Alejandro Madrid Sánchez, and student participants. Among the 63 participating PhD students of the Siegman School 2025 were three of our students: Arié Nacar, Ben Gellaerts, and Karen Danielyan. They attended lectures delivered by pioneers in laser physics, including Eric Vanstryland, Jim Kafka, Henry Helvajian, Carlo Sirtori, and others.

This year’s school impressed its nearly 100 participants and speakers not only with its technical depth but also with its rich social program.

The program offered a comprehensive overview of laser physics, covering topics such as nonlinear optics, materials and methods for laser engineering, integrated lasers, high-power ultrafast optics, and laser applications ranging from microfabrication to space exploration. Participants from 25 countries across all continents had the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with lecturers from the USA, Italy, Germany, Australia, India, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Additionally, attendees visited the PhotonicsAI laboratories at Yerevan State University. It is worth noting that B-PHOT and the PhotonicsAI Laboratory have maintained an active collaboration for nearly five years, with joint projects and publications, and regular student and staff exchanges. In fact, just one week before the Siegman School, Alejandro Madrid Sanchez conducted a week-long training on optical design for researchers at the PhotonicsAI Laboratory.

Within the collaboration with the PhotonicsAI Laboratory, our PhD student Arié Nacar also spent two weeks in Yerevan before the Siegman School to get trained and work intensively on liquid crystals technology. Their characterisation, and their use in combination with 3D polymer structures fabricated via two-photon polymerization direct laser writing.

B-PHOT and PhotonicsAI laboratory are already looking forward to the next international event next year, which will strengthen our collaboration and scientific friendship.