“Follow your dreams! There is always a path for motivated people.”

Meet Pierre Lebegue, a PhD student at the Laboratoire Charles Fabry (LCF) and the Laboratoire pour l’utilisation des lasers intenses (LULI) in France working on the THRILL project.

Hi Pierre, please tell us more about your background and what you are working on.

Hello, my name is Pierre Lebegue, and I am currently in a PhD position as part of the THRILL project. I began this PhD after completing a double degree between the Institut d’Optique Graduate School (IOGS) and the Master’s program in Grand Instrumentation – Plasma, Laser, Accelerator, Tokamak (GI.P.L.A.TO) at Paris-Saclay University.

My research focuses on studying laser architectures to increase the energy and repetition rate of ultra-high-energy laser systems. More specifically, I am interested in coherent beam combining, which involves using many smaller, cheaper and faster lasers and combining them to create one high-energy system, rather than building a single large laser. This technology has already proven effective for small-scale and fibre-based systems. My role is to apply this concept to high-energy laser chains, which present many new and unexplored constraints. In my PhD, I explore these new challenges and will hopefully propose solutions.

How did you find out what your path was after school?

I have always been passionate about science and engineering. Throughout my studies, I had the opportunity to complete several laboratory internships. I immediately loved the atmosphere and the research profession, but it was during my last internship at GSI/FAIR that I discovered the world of high-energy lasers. I was convinced by this field right away – I loved the strong experimental component.

What would you recommend young talents who want to step into tech?

I would recommend that they follow their dreams! It’s a beautiful field where you can work with your creativity and imagination. Even though it can be a long journey that sometimes seems out of reach, there is always a path for motivated people. And if you’re not sure yet, I recommend trying it out – for example, through an internship – to get a better idea!

What’s currently your favorite tech topic and why?

At the moment, I would say my favourite tech topic is optical phase sensing. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time on it in my research, but I genuinely find it exciting. The phase of light carries a lot of information, especially about what has passed through. Unfortunately, because light propagates so quickly, we can’t measure its phase directly. Instead, we have to design clever tools, often based on interference, to extract this information. What I love most is developing instruments to measure physical properties like this and see them in action.

What’s your most important learning in your career?

During my PhD, I learned to make the most from every experience, especially from mistakes. More often than not, things didn’t work out as expected – but that’s where the real learning happens. And then, suddenly, everything starts to fall into place, which means that you have made enough mistakes to learn from.

What has been your biggest challenge in working in science so far?

For me, it’s the planning part of the experiments. In our field in particular, for example, we have to reserve the laser facility a year in advance to conduct an experiment lasting a few weeks. Everything has to be planned, and everything has to work at the right moment. In addition, components for high-energy lasers are often custom-made, which makes them very expensive and subject to long delivery times. Each time, it’s a gamble as to whether we will get the component on time and whether it will all work as planned. It’s both stressful and stimulating.

Thank you for the interview, Pierre!

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