Kai Babb

Kai is currently on an industrial placement at the CLF after 3 years of studying Physics at the University of Manchester. He joined the CLF in August 2025, joining the Vulcan laser system team in developing the new Vulcan 20-20 upgrade.

Kai was drawn to the Vulcan team due to the sheer scale of the Vulcan 20-20 project, but also the STFC’s own beliefs of impactful-innovation and incentivising younger generations into STEM pathways. Kai hopes that through his placement he is able to gain an understanding of the technical details and applications of the optical concepts he studied at the University of Manchester, so that he may be more prepared to pursue further studies in the field of lasers and optics in the future.