BAILEY COLLEGE MILESTONE: FIRST BUILT AT CAL POLY

Cal Poly students have built the first femtosecond solid-state laser in the university’s 125-year history.

Undergraduate students collaborated with Isinsu Toker, a Cal Poly physics professor, to construct a titanium-sapphire laser from scratch. The tunable laser, which emits red and near-infrared light, was constructed over three months during the fall and winter quarters of the 2025-26 academic year.

“This is the first laser of its kind built on campus,” Toker said. “This is a very important step for students, especially undergraduates, to develop a rare and valuable skill that has a wide variety of applications for industry and research.”

Cal Poly students will be ahead of their peers in the field when they enter the workforce with this experience.

— Isinsu Toker, Physics professor, Founder of Cal Poly Photon Lab

Lasers, which generate highly concentrated beams of light, are used in industrial manufacturing, medical procedures, communications, scientific research, consumer electronics and many other forms.

Toker, who specializes in optics (the study of light and how it behaves) and lasers, joined Cal Poly in 2022, after working as a researcher in Istanbul at the Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center, Turkey’s first research center specializing in study of surface characteristics of materials and devices, and how they can be modified for specific applications.

While lasers can be purchased commercially, the benefit of constructing them includes opportunities for students to gain hands-on knowledge and to learn how to make modifications for specific laboratory uses.

“A research group using multiphoton microscopy to study biological tissues in fields like cancer research and neuroscience is likely to need someone who’s capable of understanding and building lasers,” Toker said. “Cal Poly students will be ahead of their peers in the field when they enter the workforce with this experience.”

Cal Poly’s first laser was built after securing parts that would be difficult to manufacture on a university campus. But the rest they built painstakingly piece by piece, assembling the device to ensure proper functionality and energy output.

The laser-building project received grant funding from the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics and support from the Leonard and Natalie Wall Physics Faculty Research Fellowship. Leonard Wall was a Cal Poly professor emeritus of physics who wanted to support research in the Physics Department; he passed away in February 2026. Some of the laser components were provided by physics alumnus Aaron Dodell (M.S. Materials Engineering, ’00, Physics, ’98) through his employer, General Atomics.

The team also adapted the laser to emit both continuous light and femtosecond pulses — ultra-short bursts lasting one quadrillionth of a second. Femtosecond lasers are often used in scientific research like materials characterization and deep-tissue imaging, and medical device manufacturing, LASIK (vision correction surgery) and more.

Two undergraduate physics students worked intensively on the project: Hannah Bauer (Physics, ’26), who minored in astronomy, and James Mauck, a second-year student who’s pursuing a double major in chemistry.

“My role was to set up, align, operate and test the laser,” said Mauck, who helped create the laser mount using 3D design. “I had some experience with mechanical design before college. I was really interested in getting involved in research, and this has been a great opportunity.”

Bauer, who has an interest in telescopes for astronomy study as well, said that the work involved significant testing and adjustments.

“Everything has to be very precisely aligned,” said Bauer, whose senior project focused on the laser construction. “During the building process, when something didn’t work, we had to take it all apart and start over. You can actively see how you’re manipulating the light, which is really amazing.”

Toker is currently guiding students on an even more complex project, starting from the crystal that amplifies the light in a laser and building the rest of the device, including crystal mounts, lens holders and a rail system to house the components.

Cal Poly’s new laser technology projects will also assist research-based projects, including ongoing biomedical applications for which the lasers will test for optimum wavelength and color for examining tissue types. Toker said she expects to collaborate with faculty and student peers across campus to use laser technology on various research projects.

“Over time at Cal Poly, these applications will grow and involve more research-based studies,” Toker said. “We expect to partner with researchers across campus who may send samples for testing and characterizing with specialized optics equipment.