Paolo Laporta received the Laurea (university degree) summa cum laude in nuclear engineering (electronics specialisation) in 1979 from the Politecnico di Milano – School of Engineering, Milan, Italy.

In 1981 he joined the Center for Quantum Electronics and Electronic Instrumentation of the National Research Council in Milan. From 1986 to 1990 he was an Associate Professor of Optoelectronics at Tor Vergata University of Rome and from 1991 to 1998 Associate Professor of Optics at the Politecnico of Milan. Since 2000 he is Full Professor of Physics at the Politecnico of Milan. He was deeply involved in the design and realization of solid-state laser resonators, diode pumped erbium-ytterbium lasers, Er-doped fiber and waveguide amplifiers, 2-micron solid-state lasers. His current research activities include spectroscopy and frequency metrology using frequency combs, solid-state and semiconductor lasers, as well as novel photonic waveguide structures and devices for optical communications and optofluidics. He has co-authored more than 200 journal publications, 110 conference presentations (35 invited), and he holds 4 international patents.

Prof. Laporta is a member of the European Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, the European Optical Society, and the Italian Physical Society. He was awarded the 1992 Italian Philips Morris Prize for Scientific and Technological Research.