How about a laser that can create as much energy as a mid-sized city in a less than a femtosecond??? Burak Ucer is our special tech and assists with the ongoing materials research. This lab uses ultrafast spectroscopy to investigate the immediate consequences of the absorption of a photon by a crystalline solid. Ultrashort (~130 femtoseconds) high-power (~ 20 Gigawatts) laser pulses excite the solid and monitor its evolution. Nonlinear optical and ultrafast phenomena are also being studied in collaboration with the Medical School of WFU. Inhomogeneous samples and thin films with 3-dimensional spatial resolution of the order 200 nm x 700 nm are studied using confocal multiphoton microspectroscopy. Also, interactions at surfaces are investigated using ultrahigh vacuum analytical techniques.