Dr Pablo Ruiz

PhD

Pronouns: He/him
  • Reader in Applied Optics
  • International Exchanges Coordinator

Background

Pablo earned his PhD in Physics (Honours), under supervision of Professor G. H. Kaufmann, Fellow SPIE, Fellow OSA. Title: “Measurement of transient events using electronic speckle pattern interferometry”, from the Rosario Institute of Physics, Argentina in March 2002. Dr Ruiz joined Loughborough University in 2002, where he currently holds a Readership in Applied Optics.

Key Awards

  • Royal Society Industry Fellowship (RSIF) at Phase Vision Ltd. (Oct 2012 – Jun 2013) and Renishaw Plc. (Jul 2013 - Mar 2015)
  • 50th Anniversary Plenary Speaker & Award “Tomographic imaging of displacement and strain fields: current techniques and applications”, Celebrating 50 years of the British Society for Strain Measurement, NPL, Teddington, UK, 4th Nov 2014.
  • Research Excellence Award 2016, ‘India-UK Excellence Awards for Collaborations in Higher Education: Recognizing Mobility, Research and Innovative Partnerships’. British Council and the Confederation of Indian Industry, New Delhi, 9 Nov 2016. This prize was awarded to Profs R. Gottschalg and R. Gupta, PIs of the STAPP project (see above), of which I was CI.
  • Best paper at Speckle 2012 “V International Conference on Speckle Metrology”, Vigo, Spain, Sep 2012.
  • Best paper at Speckle 2006 International Conference “Speckles: From grains to flowers”, Nimes, France, Sep 2006.

Patents

  • “Single Shot Profilometer”. Patents: WO2011010092, CN102656420, EP2459958, JP2012533746, US2012176625
  • “Method and Apparatus for measuring Distance”. Greek Patent Application No: 20200100260, UK PA No:2009723.4 filed on 25 June 2020.

Research interests and activities

Dr Ruiz has over 20 years of experience in the development of optical instrumentation and techniques for non-contact optical metrology and non-destructive testing, including: pulsed speckle interferometry to study high-speed phenomena such as mechanical waves propagating through structural alloys; phase shifting techniques; 3D and 4D phase unwrapping; ‘depth-resolved’ techniques related to Optical coherence tomography to measure deformation fields in semi-transparent scattering materials; Synthetic Aperture Interferometry; Laser Detection and Ranging (Lidar).

From a research core focused in the development of new techniques, he expanded into problem-driven multidisciplinary research in: 1) material science (thin films response to environmental conditions), 2) renewable energies (photovoltaic encapsulant materials), and 3) strain tomography and material characterization with inverse methods (cornea, Virtual Fields Method).

He held a Royal Society Industry Fellowship hosted first by Phase Vision Ltd and then Renishaw to develop ‘snapshot’ areal profilometry, i.e. fast measurement of surface shape without any sort of scanning required. His current research is focused on novel approaches to Hyperspectral Interferometry; Synthetic Aperture Interferometry; Frequency Scanning Interferometry ranging; and the study of propagation of solitons in mechanical waveguides.

Grants and Contracts

  • EPSRC – EP/P006930/1, Future Advanced Metrology HUB (2017-2024)
  • CDT–EI and Renishaw “Single-shot hyperspectral interferometry”, 4yr studentship (2016-2019)
  • CDT–EI, Epigem and NPL “Synthetic Aperture interferometry”, 4yr studentship (2016-2020)
  • EPSRC – EP/M020940/1 “Synthetic aperture interferometry: High-resolution optical measurement over an exceptionally large field of view” (2015-18)
  • Royal Society – Industry Fellowship “High-accuracy single-shot shape measurement using Hyperspectral Interferometry” RF2012/R2 (2012-15)
  • Royal Society – Bryan Mercer Innovation Fellowships “Instant 3D imaging” (2010-11)
  • EMDA - Innovation Fellowships “Instant 3D imaging” (2010-11)
  • EPSRC – EP/H040331/1, India/UK Collaborative Research Initiative in Solar Energy “Stability and Performance of Photovoltaics” (STAPP), 2010-14, £2.87M total, P. Ruiz share £150k
  • EPSRC – EP/F02861X/1, “3D strain field mapping of scattering media using Wavelength Scanning Interferometry with application to damaged composites”, 2008-11
  • EPSRC – EP/E050565/1 First Grant “Depth-resolved phase contrast metrology in life sciences and engineering”, 2007-10

Current teaching responsibilities

  • WSA102 Engineering Science
  • WSB140 Mechanics for Robotics
  • WSD902 Laser and Optical Measurements
  • WSP102 Experimental Mechanics
  • WSB300 Engineering Computation

Current administrative responsibilities

  • International Exchanges Coordinator
  • PDR Reviewer
  • Probation Advisor

External collaborators

  • National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
  • University of Southampton
  • Optoelectronic Research Centre (ORC)
  • Epigem Ltd
  • Renishaw plc

External roles and appointments

Advisory roles:

  • Member of a review panel of the Optical Metrology Group in the sub-department of Particle Physics at the University of Oxford and the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Jan 2010. This group has been responsible for the development and commissioning of an interferometric system to monitor the dimensional stability of the inner semiconductor detector at the Large Hadron Collider, Geneva, CERN. My role was to review their activities and their research opportunities in case of funding cuts in Accelerator Science.
  • Referee for: 1) Optics Letters, 2) Applied Optics, 3) Optical Engineering Letters, 4) Optical Engineering, 5) Measurement Science Technology, 6) Optics Communications, 7) Journal of Holography and Speckle, 8) Strain , 9) Optics & Laser Technology, 10) Journal of Biophotonics , 11) Experimental Mechanics, 12) Journal of Biomedical Optics, 13) Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 14) Optica Applicata
  • International Research Proposal Reviewer: 1) ‘Impulse Fund’, University of Leuven, Belgium; 2) CONICET, Argentina.

Professional Affiliations

Past/current Member of:

  • Optical Society of America (www.osa.org)
  • European Optical Society (www.myeos.org)
  • Institute of Physics (www.iop.org)
  • Optical Sensing Group (IoP, UK)
  • British Society for Strain Measurement (BSSM)
  • Cardiff Institute of Tissue Engineering and Repair (CITER)
  • EPSRC Associate Peer Review College (UK)
  • Centre for Nonlinear Dynamics and Waves (LU)
  • Centre for Imaging Science (LU)

External PhD Examinations

  • 2020 Heriot-Watt Univ., A. Michalska
  • 2019 Univ. of Bath, M. Azini
  • 2018 Hannover Medical School, Germany, A. Kouvaka
  • 2015 Univ. of Nottingham, A. Badiee
  • 2014 Heriot-Watt Univ., J. Earl
  • 2014 KAUST, A. Moussawi (Saudi Arabia)
  • 2013 Lulea University of Technology, Rosendahl (Sweden)
  • 2011 Oxford University, M. Warden
  • 2009 Herriot-Watt Univ., Wu

International Conferences and Symposia

  • Member of the Scientific Committee of the BSSM’s 14th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, to be held at Queen’s University Belfast, from 10th – 12th September 2019
  • Member of the Programme Committee of the SPIE conference series "Optical Methods for Inspection, Characterization and Imaging of Bio-Materials", which is part of the SPIE Optical Metrology Symposium and the Laser World of Photonics Event. Munich 2017
  • Member of the Scientific Committee of the BSSM’s 12th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, to be held at The University of Sheffield, Edinburgh, South Yorkshire, UK, from 29th – 31st August 2017
  • Member of the Scientific Committee of the BSSM’s 10th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, 1- 3 September 2015.
  • Member of the Programme Committee of the SPIE conference series "Optical Methods for Imaging, Characterization and Inspection of Bio-Materials and Structures", which is part of the SPIE Optical Metrology Symposium and the Laser World of Photonics Event. Munich 2015.
  • Chairman of sessions “Magnetic Resonance Elastography”, and “Optical coherence tomography” at the 16th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, ICEM16, Cambridge, UK, July 2014.
  • Organizer of the session “Interferometric techniques” within the track on “Volume-based experimental mechanics” for the 16th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, ICEM16, Cambridge, UK, July 2014.
  • Local Organizer and Chairman of the ‘Tomographic imaging of displacement and strain fields’ symposium, organized with BSSM at Loughborough University, Apr 2013.
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, International Conference in Trends in Optics and Photonics (IConTOP - 2011), India, Dec 2011.
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, Photomechanics 2011 International Conference, Brussels, Feb 2011.
  • Member of the Scientific Committee and Chair of the “Low coherence and white speckle interferometry” session at the Speckle 2010 conference in Florianopolis, Brazil, Sep 2010.
  • Chairman of the “Fringe Analysis Special Interest Group” (FASIG) session at the Photon 10 International Conference in Southampton, Aug 2010.
  • Member of the Scientific and Organizing Committees, BSSM seminars on "Experimental Mechanics in biological tissues”, Loughborough, UK, 23rd Jun 2009.
  • Member of the Scientific and Organizing Committees, Photomechanics 2008 International Conference, Loughborough, UK, Jul 2008.
  • Chairman at the FASIG session in Photon08, Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Aug 2008.
  • Chairman in a topical session at ICEM13, the 13th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, Alexandroupolis, Evros, Greece, Jul 2007.
  • Chairman in a topical session at ICEM12, the 12th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, Bari, Italy, Aug 2004.

Invited talks

§: International

19) “From galaxies to precision surfaces: Single-shot areal profilometry using hyperspectral interferometry with micro-optics arrays”, Institute of Compound Semiconductors, Cardiff University, Physics and Astronomy Department, Feb 2020.

18) “Single-shot hyperspectral interferometry: From astronomy instrumentation to surface profilometry and depth-resolved deformation measurements”, The BSSM's 14th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, Belfast, Sep 2019.

17) § “Advances and Challenges in Synthetic Aperture Interferometry”, Digital Holography and 3-D Imaging Conference, Optical Society of America, Florida, USA, June 2018.

16) § Topical workshop, at the Symposium “Future Challenges to Optical Imaging and Measurement Technologies in Times of Digital Transition”, for the Inauguration of the ITO-Stuttgart Nano Measurement and Fabrication Centre, Stuttgart, Germany, 24-27th September 2017.

15) § “Mathematical framework based on linear systems theory for assessing resolution and sensitivity of tomographic phase measurement techniques”, Mathematical Optics Symposium, Schloss Herrenhausen, Germany, 20th June 2016 (cancelled)

14) Short course on “3D strain measurement techniques”, invited by BSSM as part of the 11th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, University of Exeter, 5th Sep 2016 (cancelled)

13) § “Tomographic optical strain imaging and spatially resolved material characterization”,Processes in Combined Digital Optical and Imaging Methods applied to Mechanical Engineering, Locarno, Switzerland, 8th May 2016.

12) “Tomographic mapping of strain and mechanical properties in the bulk of materials and tissues”, at the “Biomechanics and Bioengineering” seminar, Cardiff Institute of Tissue Engineering and Repair, Cardiff University, 15th Apr 2015.

11) § "Tomographic Imaging of displacements and strain fields: current techniques and applications”, King Abdulla University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, 28th Jan 2015.

10) 50th Anniversary Plenary Speaker “Tomographic imaging of displacement and strain fields: current techniques and applications”, Celebrating 50 years of the British Society for Strain Measurement, NPL, Teddington, UK, 4th Nov 2014.

9) “Mapping the spatial distribution of mechanical properties in the bulk of materials using 3-D displacement fields and inverse methods”, Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, School of Medicine, Keele University, 2 Oct 2014

8) “Towards the identification of spatially resolved mechanical properties in tissues and materials: State of the art, current challenges and opportunities in the field of flow measurements”, Micro and Nano Flows 2014, University College London, UK, 7-10 Sep 2014.

7) § “Measuring 3D displacement fields in the volume of semi-transparent materials and tissues”, Arts et Metiers, Institut des Sciences et Technologies, ParisTech, Paris, 27th Jun 2013.

6) § “Tomographic sensing of displacement fields with optical methods”, OSA International Conference on Optical Sensors, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, 8-11th Jul 2013.

5) § “Tomographic imaging of all orthogonal components of the displacement field in weakly scattering materials”, OCT4NDT, First International Symposium on Optical Coherence Tomography for Non-Destructive Testing, Linz, Austria, 12th Feb 2013.

4) § “Development of high displacement sensitivity tomographic imaging for characterizing the mechanical behaviour of materials and tissues”, Centre Ingénierie et Santé, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines, Saint-Etienne, France, 4-13th Jul 2011.

3) § “Advanced Imaging Methods for Accurate Deformation, Motion and Shape Measurements: Recent Developments and Applications”, Columbia, South Carolina, USA, 5-7th Oct 2009.

2) “Phase contrast optical coherence tomography for 3D metrology applications”, School of Physical Sciences seminars, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, 11th Feb 2009.

1) “Phase sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography for metrology applications”, Rank Prize Funds mini-symposium on Optical Aspects of Non-Destructive Testing, Grasmere, UK, 19-22nd May 2008.