The field of photonics deals with the generation, detection, and manipulation of light specifically how light can be harnessed to provide useful functions. For example, nearly all of the information on the internet is transported over long distances by encoding it onto signals of infrared light carried on optical fibers that encircle the globe. As another example, many unknown materials can be identified by studying how light interacts with them (i.e. by scattering, absorbing, phase shifting, or polarizing some incident photons). The name photonics emphasizes the importance of quantum mechanical properties light and the matter that it interacts with. Many topics in photonics research involve development and/or use of lasers. Our photonics research program at UCLA encompasses fundamental topics such as how light interacts both with matter on the nanoscale and in plasmas, as well as new ways to generate, detect, and control light in underdeveloped spectral regions. Applications under investigation include the diverse topics of solar energy generation from photovoltaic cells, lensless microscopy for cell-phone based telemedicine, high energy laser wakefield particle accelerators, ultra-high frame rate imaging based on ultrafast lasers, silicon photonics, biomedical imaging, and use of stabilized lasers for ultra-high precision measurements to name just a few.