Carla Faria

Carla Figueira De Morisson Faria is a Brazilian physicist at University College London. She works on theoretical strong-field laser-matter interactions.

Early life and education

Faria is from Belém. She studied physics at the University of São Paulo. She worked with Vanderlei Bagnato on cold matter and atom trapping. Her masters dissertation considered magneto-optical traps. She joined the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy in Berlin, where she was supervised by Wolfgang Sandner. Faria joined the Max Planck Institute for Physics in 1999. She held postdoctoral positions at TU Wien, Leibniz University Hannover and Max Born Institute. Her early work considered the time profiles of high harmonic generation.

Research and career

Faria joined City, University of London as a Research Fellow in 2005 and was made an EPSRC Advanced Lecturer in 2006. She contributed to the 2007 book Progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science II. In 2007 she moved to University College London. She is a member of the Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Positron Physics group. Her research considers laser fields that have stronger intensities than 10 Wcm. At these intensities, there is laser-induced scattering of electrons with their parent ions. Faria studies the temporal and spatial interference of these. She uses strong-laser physics in solid-state electronic devices, in plasma physics and as X-ray sources. She was made a Professor of Physics in October 2018.