  The structural versatility of light underpins an outstanding collection of
optical phenomena where both geometrical and topological states of light can
dictate how matter will respond or display. Light possesses multiple degrees of
freedom such as amplitude, and linear, spin angular, and orbital angular
momenta, but the ability to adaptively engineer the spatio-temporal
distribution of all these characteristics is primarily curtailed by
technologies used to impose any desired structure to light. We describe a
foundational demonstration that examines a laser architecture offering
integrated spatio-temporal field control and programmability, thereby
presenting unique opportunities for generating light by design to exploit its
topology.
