Paul Ewart obtained a BSc and PhD in Physics from Queen's University Belfast and then was an (SERC) Advanced Fellow at the Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. His research work has centered on using lasers to study atomic and molecular physics, quantum optics and nonlinear spectroscopy. Current research includes interdisciplinary applications of laser spectroscopy to combustion and environmental physics. He was Professor of Physics and formerly Head of the department of Atomic and Laser Physics at Oxford University.