Martin joined the Institute in March 1996. He obtained a Ph.D in Laser Physics from Imperial College, London, in 1985, followed by postdoctoral work in the USA in the group of Professor A.L. Smirl, first at North Texas State University and subsequently at the University of Iowa. His work there involved ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconductors and femtosecond laser development. He returned to the UK in 1991 to join Sharp Corporation's new research laboratory (SLE) in Oxford as a Senior Researcher, working on semiconductor spectroscopy and diode laser development. His interests at the Institute focus on III-V optoelectronic devices and materials’ science, particularly on developing novel surface-normal emitters and modulators including VCSELs, VECSELs, micro-LEDs and SESAMs. Martin is a Senior Member of IEEE/LEOS, of which he was Scottish Chapter Chairman from 2000 – 2003. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was promoted to Professor in October 2001.