Meet Our Smart Nano Team Members - Dr. Cillian McPolin
Name: Dr. Cillian McPolin
Job Title: Photonics Technologist
Company: Digital Catapult
Overview of role:
As a photonics technologist at Digital Catapult, Cillian drives forward the adoption of photonic technologies and is a key contributor to the Smart Nano NI project through the Accelerator programme. This programme, being delivered by Digital Catapult on behalf of the Smart Nano NI consortium, will enable companies to explore the potential of photonics, nanomanufacturing, 5G and smart technologies, together with identifying shared challenges, prototype solutions and scale successes.
Cillian has been fascinated by light from an early age, having had a microscope and simple optical components growing up. During his physics studies, he naturally settled upon a career in photonics. He explained, “Learning how fundamental photonic technology is considered in modern society was particularly inspiring – from smartphones to the internet, photonics is crucial to global communication, exploring the universe and healthcare. By pursuing a career in photonics, I hope to help develop and advance technologies that harness light, potentially resulting in exciting new devices and applications”.
Cillian received an MSci and PhD degrees in physics from Queen’s University Belfast and King’s College London, respectively. It was his photonics project at Queen’s which spurred Cillian to complete a PhD at King’s and focus on nanophotonics. He continued, “Controlling and manipulating light on the nanoscale to enable new applications, was especially rewarding. I subsequently undertook further research at King’s and Imperial College London for different photonic technologies, including nanoscale light sources and ultrafast modulation of optical signals. Working at Digital Catapult is a fantastic opportunity for me to help grow and support the photonics sector in NI and the rest of the UK. I’m particularly passionate about bridging the gap between academia and industry, ensuring leading photonics research can be successfully used in real-life applications. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the substantial impact of the Smart Nano NI project, in particular the significant growth of photonics in NI, which will include the development of new photonic technologies and companies”.
Cillian has travelled often, both for photonics events and to explore different countries and their cultures and will continue with plans for future trips abroad. When he has time to relax, his hobbies include making music, flying drones, tennis and painting. Cillian concluded, “Undoubtably, my favourite beverage is coffee – I very much enjoy exploring new coffees and learning new preparation techniques. When I am not focused on photonics, I am always trying to achieve that perfect cup of coffee!”.