Education
University of Glasgow (2016-present)
PhD: “Computational Imaging”. Using computational techniques to reduce the complexity of traditional optical systems.
University of Cambridge (2015-2016)
MRes Integrated Electronic and Photonic Systems, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
Taught Courses: Photonic systems, Management of Technology, Display technology, Electronic sensors and Instrumentation, Nanotechnology and Healthcare
MRes Project 1: ‘Light field imaging for light sheet microscopy’, Designed and built a light field-light sheet microscope. Supervisor by Dr Kevin O’Holleran at Cambridge Advanced Imaging Centre (CAIC).
MRes Project 2: ‘Holographic Head Up Displays’, Implemented holographic HUD system on site at Qioptiq. Supervised by Professor Tim Wilkinson and Dr Helen Swygart.
University of Glasgow (2010-2015)
MSci Physics (Integrated Masters)
Key Courses: Frontiers of Optics, Modern Optics, Medical Imaging, Solid State Physics, Magnetism and Superconductivity, Quantum Theory.
MSci 5th year Project: Single Pixel Camera: Enhancing a single pixel camera system to exhibit real time video imaging in non-visible wavelengths in the Optics Group. Supervised by Professor Miles Padgett.
MSci 4th year project: Structured light illumination for tissue characterisation and remote sensing: Based in the Imaging Concepts research group. Supervised by Professor Andy Harvey.
MSci 3rd year Group Project: Film project: Produced, as part of an 8-person team, a short documentary film , ‘Let’s talk about Spin’, about current spintronics research at Glasgow.
Papers, abstracts and posters
Dienerowitz M, Cowan LV, Gibson GM, Hay R, Padgett MJ, Phoenix VR. Optically trapped bacteria pairs reveal discrete motile response to control aggregation upon cell–cell approach. Current microbiology. 2014 Nov 1;69(5):669-74.
Cowan LV, Babington J, Carles G, Perciado MA, Wood A, Harvey AR. 360° snapshot imaging with a convex array of long-wave infrared cameras. InComputational Optical Sensing and Imaging 2019 Jun 24 (pp. JW4B-4). Optical Society of America.
Harvey AR, Carles G, Cowan L, Preciado M, Ralph J, Babington J, Wood A. The simplicity, complexity, and benefits of multi-aperture imaging in the thermal infrared. InEmerging Imaging and Sensing Technologies for Security and Defence II 2017 Oct 6 (Vol. 10438, p. 1043806). International Society for Optics and Photonics.
Cowan LV, Zammit P, Carles G, Harvey AR. Time-sequential pipelined imaging with wavefront coding and super resolution. InImaging Systems and Applications 2017 Jun 26 (pp. JTu5A-2). Optical Society of America.
All presentations and posters available via figshare.
Teaching Experience
Deputy coordinator for additive manufacturing undergraduate research project (2019 – Present)
Practical Lab Demonstrator for Year 2 (2016-2018) and Year 3 (2018-Present)
Carnegie Vacation scholar supervisor Summer 2019
Other research Experience
Research assistant Summer 2014, “Noise amplification in Supercontiuum generation”, novel methods for discrete signal amplification. Supervised by Professor Goery Genty, Tampere University of Technology: Non-Linear Optics research group.
Research Assistant Summer 2013, “Rotary aether drag”, investigating light travelling through a rotating medium, “slow darkness”. Supervised by Professor Miles Padgett, The University of Glasgow, Optics Group.
Research assistant Summer 2012, “Optically trapped bacteria pairs reveal discrete motile response to control aggregation upon cell–cell approach.”. Supervised by Dr Maria Dienerowitz and Professor Miles Padgett.
Awards and Funding
Lord Kelvin travel fund
IOP: Research Student Conference Fund
Contact
Laura.Cowan@glasgow.ac.uk
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Laura Cowan 