The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

Ionic piezoresistance, the effect of lattice strain on ionic conductivity, is an important concept that needs to be harnessed to engineer the next generation of fast ionic conductors. To date there have been many reports of strain affecting changes in the level of ionic conductivity in solid electrolytes. The fundamental understanding is, however, still lacking, with limited experimental quantification of the magnitude of the effect. Here, we propose using the ionic piezoresistive coefficient, the constant of proportionality between the strain state and the change in conductivity, as a quantitative measure of this effect and detail a novel technique we have developed to quantify this in high temperature ionically conducting materials.

The grey-winged cotinga Tijuca condita was first described in 1980 from an old specimen, misidentified as a congener. Field observations came later, from two remote, high-elevation forests in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Both involved only a few pairs of birds at best, making this species one of the least known in the world. Accurately defining the locations this species inhabits is an obvious prerequisite for designing conservation strategies to protect it. Using remotely sensed data on elevation and forest cover we mapped this species’ habitat and predicted six more sites where it may occur. Field surveys confirmed two of them, doubling the known range of the species. The two easternmost predicted sites did not contain the species but these areas have less annual rainfall than other sites, which may explain the absences. This research serves as an important guide to conservation actions, for it uncovered biologically important areas for this species that had been previously overlooked. It has also measured the remaining habitat of the species so that any future losses can be detected.