Dr Gordon Zyla Leads ERC-Funded Research on 3D Nanofabrication at VU

Dr Gordon Zyla from the Laser Research Center at the Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University (VU), has been awarded funding by the European Research Council (ERC) under its prestigious Starting Grant scheme. His project, METAMORPHOS, is the only ERC Starting Grant awarded in Lithuania in this year’s call.

Dr Zyla will develop a novel manufacturing methodology for high-precision 3D printing, designed to overcome current limitations in resolution and materials and open new possibilities for versatile, true 3D nanofabrication. The ERC Starting Grant provides up to €1.5 million over five years. 

A next-generation manufacturing technology for true 3D nanofabrication 

At its core, METAMORPHOS addresses two key limitations of multi-photon polymerization: how precisely structures can be manufactured and what kinds of materials can be used.

“The idea behind METAMORPHOS is to go beyond what current multi-photon polymerization can offer: to increase the resolution, but also to move beyond printing only polymers and towards a much broader range of materials that can interact with light in more intricate ways,” explains Dr Zyla. 

To achieve this, the project will combine advanced femtosecond laser technology that allows for using multiple laser beams of different colors, with an innovative and gentle post-processing technique based on microwave treatment. In this way, METAMORPHOS will enable reliable 3D manufacturing at the nanoscale while extending the technology beyond polymer  structures  without sacrificing the process versatility that has made multi-photon polymerization valuable across a wide range of interdisciplinary fields.

“Bringing together nanoscale precision, material versatility, and true 3D design and fabrication freedom, METAMORPHOS will transform what is possible in 3D nanofabrication and open up new opportunities for realizing integrated optical systems in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. In particular, we will be able to fabricate sophisticated nanostructures in virtually any environment, allowing us to precisely engineer the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light for tailored control of light fields. These so-called nano-optical or meta-optical elements will thus enable advanced manipulation of light beyond what conventional optics can achieve,” says Dr Zyla. 

According to Dr. Zyla, the project’s acronym reflects its scientific ambition. METAMORPHOS draws on three Greek roots: meta, meaning “beyond”; morphe, meaning “form” or “shape”; and phos, meaning “light”. In practical terms, the new manufacturing technology developed in METAMORPHOS aims to make it possible to realize smaller and more versatile optical structures and to integrate sophisticated optical functions into increasingly compact devices, paving the way for next-generation applications across a broad range of multidisciplinary fields, including advanced imaging and microscopy, sensing and metrology, telecommunications, quantum photonics, and integrated photonic devices.”

From Research Fellowships to an ERC Grant

Dr Zyla has spent his scientific career exploring the use of high-resolution 3D printing by multi-photon polymerization for optics and photonics, working at the intersection of process engineering, physics, and materials science. He completed his PhD at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany and later continued his postdoctoral research at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) in Crete, Greece. During this period, he was awarded two highly competitive international postdoctoral fellowships: the Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, funded by the European Union.

Dr Zyla joined the Laser Research Center at the Faculty of Physics, VU, in 2025. Here he continues this work using advanced femtosecond laser infrastructure and in collaboration with Lithuania’s laser and photonics sector. His work has been supported by the Vilnius University Foundation as one of the winners of the 2024 Young Scientist Co-Funding Competition and later through a Vilnius University Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Dr Zyla also acknowledges the people who supported him in reaching this major milestone in his career. He particularly highlights Dr Dalia Kaškelytė, Director of the Laser Research Center at the Faculty of Physics at VU, for her enormous support during his time at Vilnius University and his former supervisor at IESL-FORTH, Dr Maria Farsari, for encouraging him to pursue ambitious scientific ideas. He also points to his doctoral supervisor, Prof. Andreas Ostendorf, for providing an important foundation for his scientific career, and to the Research School at Ruhr University Bochum for giving him the opportunity to take his first steps abroad as a postdoctoral researcher. 

This year’s ERC Starting Grant competition attracted a record 4,807 proposals, 22 per cent more than in the previous call. The ERC awarded €705 million to 421 early-career researchers across Europe, meaning that only 8.8 per cent of applications could be funded. The grants are expected to create more than 2,700 jobs in the research teams of the new grantees.