Congratulation to Dr. Mathilde Hary!

Exploration the use of machine learning algorithms to harness these complex dynamics for the optimization of light sources and carrying information.

On Friday, May 30th, 2025, the public defense of the doctoral dissertation by MSc (Tech.) Mathilde Hary in the field of physics, titled “From Optimization to Computation: Metaheuristic Control of Optical Fiber Systems and Optical Computing “, took place at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University. The event took place on Hervanta campus. Professor Darko Zibar from Technical University of Denmark, Denmark, served as the Opponent, while Professor Goëry Genty from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, acted as the Custos.

In Mathilde Hary’s dissertation, she experimentally implemented metaheuristic algorithms in various fiber-based systems for the spectral shaping of supercontinuum generation and simultaneously controlling up to four wavelengths using a genetic algorithm. Beyond light control, she also demonstrated that such algorithms can be applied to the alignment and stability enhancement of laser cavities, highlighting their potential for self-alignment and superior system resilience.

Building on her earlier work in optical system optimization, she took a major step further by exploring how light itself can be used to compute. By leveraging the nonlinear dynamics of ultrashort pulses, she experimentally explored the use of highly nonlinear fibers as an alternative to traditional electronic computing architectures. As she said, “Controlling the nonlinear behavior of light is a crucial step towards harnessing it as a medium for computation”.