Wilson Sibbett has conducted significant research on ultrashort pulse laser science and technology. Wilson, in his work on streak cameras, first demonstrated the technique of subpicosecond chronoscopy. By synchronous repetition, the streak cameras function as oscilloscopes. This was followed by his pioneering work on coupled cavity or additive-pulse mode locking and, more recently, his discovery of the technique of self-mode locking. First observed in nonlinear effects in titanium-doped sapphire, this technique has proved generally applicable and enabled the commercialisation of subpicosecond pulses of wide tuning range. Finally, he has exploited the advantages of diode-pumped solid-state lasers in the field of nonlinear optics for frequency conversion by demonstration of the world’s first all-solid-state optical parametric oscillator. These contributions are adding significantly to the power of laser techniques in physical investigation.