ICTP and SPIE, the international optics and photonics society, have started a new research initiative on quantum cascade lasers (QCL). Quantum cascade lasers have numerous applications in the remote sensing of environmental gases and pollutants, as well as in medical diagnostics.

SPIE co-sponsors the Winter College on Optics, an annual school held at ICTP to expose young scientists from developing countries to recent achievements in optics and laser physics towards application in areas of scientific and societal importance.  Life sciences, environmental science and, next year, energy science have been specific themes of recent Colleges.

The QCL research will be done in collaboration with INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nuclear) and led by Dr. Andrea Vacchi, member of the INFN National Board, Silvia Dalla Torre, director of the Trieste section of INFN and ICTP, in collaboration with the Institute for Nanoelectronics, Technische Universität München (TUM).