Physics student wins international poster prize at UPCON 2026

1 May 2026

Advanced Optical Materials Poster Prize at the UPCON 2026, held in Brno.

Francesca Cali's award-winning poster, titled “Wavefront shaping with non-linear feedback from upconverting nanoparticles for biomedical applications,” was recognised for its innovation and potential impact in the field of optical imaging and biophotonics. The prize was sponsored by Wiley’s journal Advanced Optical Materials, highlighting outstanding contributions from early-career researchers.

Her work explores how advanced light control techniques—specifically wavefront shaping—can be combined with non-linear optical feedback from upconverting nanoparticles to improve imaging in complex biological environments. This approach has promising applications in biomedical diagnostics, where clearer and more precise imaging deep within tissue remains a significant challenge.

Francesca is a member of the research group led by Stefan Andersson-Engels, and this achievement reflects the strength of cutting-edge photonics research being carried out within the School and its collaborators.

We warmly congratulate Francesca on this excellent achievement and look forward to seeing the continued impact of her research.