Fraunhofer's first UK research centre, in Glasgow, building lasers, photonics and quantum technology systems for industry.
The Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP) is a not-for-profit research and development centre in Glasgow. It is the UK arm of Fraunhofer, the large German applied research organisation, and works on lasers and photonics, which is technology that uses light. It has two teams: one for lasers and laser systems, and one for quantum technologies, which it set up as a dedicated business unit. The centre says photonics and lasers are central to most quantum technologies, so it applies them to quantum sensing, imaging, communications and computing as well as to areas such as environmental sensing and medical diagnostics.
In 2009 the UK Government asked Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft how it could bring its applied research model to the UK, and CAP opened in 2012. Fraunhofer's stated aim in Scotland is to grow and support the economy, including training doctoral students. The centre says it has completed more than 300 projects for over 200 industrial partners. It leads the QT Assemble project, which aims to shrink laboratory optical set-ups into compact, robust packages, and it has worked with Alter Technology on a matchbox-sized laser system. Simon Andrews is Executive Director of Fraunhofer UK Research, and Dr Loyd McKnight led the quantum business unit when it was created in 2021.
CAP is based at the University of Strathclyde's Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow, and has said it is taking more space in the neighbouring Inovo building. It has a formal joint appointment with Strathclyde's Institute of Photonics, along with shared studentships. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is based in Munich and has about 28,000 staff across Germany and affiliated centres, but CAP is the UK operation. The centre grew from four staff at the start to 61 in a page last updated in February 2021, so check for a current figure.
The culture is that of an applied research centre: practical, project-based and closely tied to industry customers. The pages we read describe collaborations with universities and companies rather than staff life, so we found no first-party culture statement. The work gives people a mix of lab time, building prototypes, and talking to customers about what they need. As a not-for-profit centre linked to a university, it also trains PhD students.
Jobs at a centre like this include optical and laser engineers, physicists, electronics and software engineers, mechanical design engineers, project managers and business development staff who work with industry customers. Physics, engineering, photonics and computing are the usual starting points. Fraunhofer UK's own website lists what the team is working on and its current vacancies.
Website: www.fraunhofer.co.uk
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