translating fundamental discoveries into technologies that create tangible benefits
From a laboratory in Edinburgh, a physicist's patient work with light has earned one of Britain's highest engineering honors. Professor Robert Thomson of Heriot-Watt University receives The Princess Royal Silver Medal for the integrated photonic lantern — a device that transforms how astronomers detect distant exoplanets by capturing and routing starlight with extraordinary precision. The recognition places his invention alongside advances in battery sustainability and responsive materials, suggesting that the Royal Academy sees in these three awardees a common virtue: the rare ability to carry a fundamental discovery all the way into the world.
- Detecting planets orbiting distant stars demands separating faint planetary signals from overwhelming stellar noise — a problem Thomson's photonic lantern solves at microscopic scale.
- The device bridges two demanding disciplines — ultrafast laser microfabrication and astronomical instrumentation — creating a tool that now sits on telescopes and reshapes what humanity can observe.
- Thomson shares the 2026 medal with innovators in battery longevity and AI-responsive materials, signaling the Academy's recognition of breakthroughs across multiple urgent technological frontiers.
- The three awardees will receive their medals from The Princess Royal on July 8th at the Academy Awards Dinner in London.
- Thomson framed the honor as a collective achievement, crediting students, researchers, clinicians, and industry partners — a reminder that transformative invention is rarely a solitary act.
Professor Robert Thomson, chair in photonics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has been awarded The Princess Royal Silver Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering for developing the integrated photonic lantern — a device that captures and processes starlight with enough precision to reveal the presence of distant exoplanets.
The invention sits at the intersection of ultrafast laser microfabrication and astronomical instrumentation. By sculpting light-guiding structures at microscopic scales, Thomson created a sophisticated collector and router of starlight that helps astronomers distinguish planetary signals from stellar noise. It is the kind of work that begins in a physics lab and ends up mounted on a telescope, quietly expanding the boundaries of what humans can see.
Thomson joins two other 2026 honorees: Dr Ian Campbell, whose software extends battery life while reducing environmental impact, and Dr Liucheng Guo, who has applied artificial intelligence to develop touch-responsive materials. All three will receive their medals on July 8th at the Academy Awards Dinner in London, presented by The Princess Royal.
In accepting the recognition, Thomson was careful to share the credit — naming the students, researchers, clinicians, and industry partners whose collaboration made the work possible. Heriot-Watt's Vice-Principal Steve McLaughlin also highlighted Thomson's 3D waveguide interconnect as a further foundational contribution, describing his body of work as one that has reshaped what engineers believe is achievable within photonics.
The Academy's decision to honor Thomson alongside innovators in sustainability and smart materials reflects a broader intent: to recognize those who have taken fundamental science and engineered it into tools that function in the real world — and in Thomson's case, tools that have already changed how humanity searches for other worlds.
Professor Robert Thomson has won one of Britain's most distinguished engineering honors for an invention that lets astronomers see farther into space. The Royal Academy of Engineering announced this week that Thomson, who holds the chair in photonics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, is receiving The Princess Royal Silver Medal for developing the integrated photonic lantern—a device that captures and processes starlight with unprecedented precision, enabling the detection of distant exoplanets.
The photonic lantern represents a convergence of two fields: ultrafast laser microfabrication and astronomical instrumentation. Thomson's work in sculpting light-guiding structures at microscopic scales has produced tools that astronomers use to gather evidence of planets orbiting other stars. The device essentially acts as a sophisticated light collector and router, funneling starlight into configurations that make it easier to distinguish planetary signals from stellar noise. It is the kind of invention that begins in a physics laboratory and ends up mounted on a telescope, changing what humans can observe about the universe.
Thomson shares this year's medal with two other recipients. Dr Ian Campbell, who co-founded Breathe Battery Technologies, has developed software that extends battery life and reduces environmental impact. Dr Liucheng Guo, co-founder and chief technical officer of TG0, has applied artificial intelligence to create touch-responsive materials. The three will receive their medals on July 8th at the Academy Awards Dinner in London, presented by The Princess Royal, who serves as a Royal Fellow of the Academy.
In a statement, Thomson reflected on the recognition as validation of a career spent moving discoveries from the laboratory into the world. He emphasized that the award belonged not to him alone but to the students, researchers, clinicians, and industry partners who collaborated on the work. This framing—crediting the collective effort behind a single inventor's name—speaks to how modern scientific breakthroughs emerge from networks rather than solitary genius.
Steve McLaughlin, Vice-Principal of Heriot-Watt University, described Thomson's contributions in terms that underscore their reach. Beyond the photonic lantern, Thomson developed the 3D waveguide interconnect, another foundational technology in photonics. McLaughlin characterized these inventions as both academic breakthroughs and industrial transformations—the kind of work that reshapes what engineers believe is possible within a field. The photonic lantern, in particular, has become an essential tool in the hunt for exoplanets, a search that has accelerated dramatically over the past two decades as detection methods have improved.
The Royal Academy of Engineering's decision to honor Thomson alongside innovators in battery sustainability and responsive materials suggests a deliberate recognition of technologies addressing multiple urgent challenges: understanding our place in the cosmos, reducing environmental harm, and developing smarter materials. Each represents a different frontier, yet all three awardees share a common thread: they have taken fundamental scientific insights and engineered them into tools that work in the real world. For Thomson, that has meant translating the physics of light propagation into an instrument that has already changed how we search for other worlds.
Notable Quotes
Throughout my career, I have been motivated by the challenge of translating fundamental discoveries into technologies that create tangible benefits for society.— Professor Robert Thomson
Robert Thomson's work in ultrafast laser microfabrication has redefined the art of the possible in photonics. His seminal inventions are not only academic breakthroughs but transformative for industry.— Professor Steve McLaughlin, Vice-Principal of Heriot-Watt University
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What exactly does a photonic lantern do that a traditional telescope cannot?
It's about precision and efficiency. A traditional telescope gathers light, but the photonic lantern does something more refined—it takes that starlight and routes it through microscopic channels, essentially bundling and organizing the photons in ways that make it far easier to detect the subtle signals of distant planets. It's like the difference between hearing a whisper in a crowded room and having someone speak directly into your ear.
How does that help find exoplanets specifically?
When a planet orbits a star, it causes tiny variations in the starlight we receive—minute wobbles and dimming effects. The photonic lantern amplifies our ability to detect those variations by cleaning up the signal. It removes noise and focuses the light in ways that make the planetary signature stand out. Without it, many exoplanets would remain invisible to us.
Thomson developed this over decades, presumably. What made him pursue this particular problem?
He was working in ultrafast laser microfabrication—essentially using lasers to etch structures into glass and other materials at scales smaller than a human hair. The breakthrough came when he realized those same techniques could solve a problem astronomers had been wrestling with for years. It's that classic moment where a tool from one field suddenly illuminates a problem in another.
The award mentions he worked with students and industry partners. How essential was that collaboration?
Absolutely essential. Thomson himself said the award reflects their contributions as much as his own. You don't move a laboratory invention into actual telescopes without engineers who can manufacture it, astronomers who can test it, and students who push the work forward. The photonic lantern didn't emerge from one person's insight—it emerged from a network of people solving different pieces of the puzzle.
What does it say about the Royal Academy that they're honoring this alongside battery technology and responsive materials?
It suggests they're recognizing that transformative engineering isn't confined to one domain. Thomson's work helps us understand the universe. Campbell's work helps us reduce environmental damage. Guo's work makes materials smarter. They're all different, but they all represent the moment when science becomes something society can actually use.