Among the AILU awards presented at the ILAS 2023 Symposium Dinner was the AILU Innovation Award for an individual contribution. The award went to Dr Ben Mills of the University of Southampton.

The AILU Innovation Award is presented to an individual and/or team (from academia or from industry) that has developed a new method, application, device or product that has enabled a significant advance in laser or applications technology. This award was introduced at ILAS 2021.

Ben Mills was presented this award for his combined research into AI and deep learning with knowledge and experience of femtosecond laser machining and beam shaping. The use of neural networks to predict the 3D appearance of materials after laser machining was truly ground breaking, and the models have shown exceptional accuracy in predicting the physical results. Ben has an important role to play in the future integration of this technology into UK industry.

Find out more about the AILU awards here https://www.ailu.org.uk/awards/