Daniel Metzner (2024)

Winning Article: “Optimization of the ablation process using ultrashort pulsed laser radiation in different burst modes”, J. Laser Appl. 33, 012057 (2021)

Dr. Daniel Metzner works with Prof. Steffen Weißmantel at the Laser Institute of the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, focusing on research in thin film deposition via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and laser microstructuring. He graduated with distinction, earning both a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Physical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida. As a student, he contributed to both fundamental and application-oriented studies on the irradiation of solid surfaces with ultrashort laser pulses.

Following his studies, Dr. Metzner completed his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Technology Chemnitz, where he earned the title of Dr.-Ing. with magna cum laude honors. During his thesis, he conducted research on the interaction of ultrashort burst pulses with solid surfaces. His work resulted in the development of four process patents, which are applied in a wide range of fields, from medical technology to 3D laser microstructuring of metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics.

Daniel Flamm (2023)

Winning Article: “Protecting the edge: Ultrafast laser modified C-shaped glass edges”, J. Laser Appl. 34, 012014 (2022)

Dr. Daniel Flamm is the Head of Numerical Photonics at TRUMPF SE + Co. KG. He received his Diploma and PhD in Physics from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, in 2009 and 2013 respectively. Since 2023 he is R&D manager for future key photonic technologies through to product development with focus on spatio-temporal beam shaping and light-material interaction. This also includes the scientific supervision of industrial doctorates. As part of the scientific community, he is public speaker and regularly invited guest at premier conferences with 100+ publications and 10+ granted patents.

Camilo Florian Baron (2022)

Winning Article: “Surface functionalization by laser-induced periodic surface structures”, J. Laser Appl. 32, 022063 (2020)

Camilo Florian Baron currently holds a Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship between the Institute of Optics from the Spanish National Research Council (IO-CSIC) and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM). He received a PhD in Nanosciences by the University of Barcelona in Spain, following three postdoctoral positions at IO-CSIC, the Spanish Center for pulsed lasers (CLPU) both in Spain, an in the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Germany, where he published the paper that is recognized with the best paper award for 2022, amongst Dr. Jörn Bonse and Dr. Jörg Krüger, permanent researchers at BAM. During his formation as student, he contributed to the development of laser-based additive and subtractive techniques including laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) for the printing of viscous liquids and functional metallic inks, and laser-direct writing (LDW) for the micro- and nanomachining of materials. His field of research includes the understanding of the interaction mechanisms between short and ultrashort laser pulses (ps and fs) with dielectrics, semiconductors and metals. He has developed and implemented applications in the fields of optics, photonics, wetting, tribology, biology and medicine to name a few, some of them included in the awarded paper.

Guillaume Bonamis (2021)

Winning Article: “High efficiency femtosecond laser ablation with gigahertz level bursts”, J Laser Appl. 31, 022205 (2019).

Guillaume Bonamis studied Physics at the University of Lille in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France, where he got his Master degree with a specialization in Lasers and Applications in 2016. In his internship at Amplitude in Pessac, France, he started working on ultrashort-pulse laser development. Staying in industry and with Amplitude, he did his PhD in Physics with the group Short-Pulses Lasers: Applications and Materials (SLAM) under the supervision of Inka Manek-Hönninger and John Lopez at the Center for Intense Lasers and Applications (CELIA) of the University of Bordeaux, France. His studies were devoted to the development of a high-power femtosecond laser source working in GHz-burst mode and its application for ultrafast laser micromachining. An enhancement in ablation efficiency of different metals and of silicon could be evidenced in the frame of his PhD thesis. Since 2021, he is working as an engineer in the R&D department of Amplitude.

Valérie Gunenthiram (2020)

Winning Article: “Analysis of laser–melt pool–powder bed interaction during the selective laser melting of a stainless steel”, J Laser Appl. 29, 022303 (2017).

Valérie Gunenthiram studied material science at the Cergy-Pontoise University in France. Following her master's thesis on study of the thermal and electromagnetic diffusion of an industrial process by numerical simulation, she obtained a doctorate on selective laser melting process in PIMM (Processing and engIneering in Mechanics and Materials) laboratory in Paris. She studied powder bed - melt pool interactions which brings together different french companies and laboratories around additive manufacturing, including the PIMM laboratory.

Christian Weingarten (2019)

Winning Article: “Laser polishing and laser shape correction of optical glass”, J. Laser Appl. 29, 011702 (2017)

Christian Weingarten studied material science at the RWTH Aachen in Germany. Following his master's thesis on the investigation of hydrogen porosity in the selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg, he began his doctorate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology. His research work focused on laser polishing and laser ablation of glass, plastics and ceramics. In 2017, he successfully completed his doctoral thesis on laser-based form correction of optical glasses. Since July 2018, he has been working in the development of silicon carbide powder in a medium-sized German company for use in additive manufacturing, among other things. From October 2019, Christian Weingarten will be moving to the field of environmental management and will also be working professionally for sustainability and environmental protection.