Stories

Professor Graham Reed, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and Co-Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub, recently received the Sir Frank Whittle medal, one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s (RAEng) highest accolades.

In 2017, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) launched the Prosperity Partnership programme, an initiative aimed at fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

Optica’s Optics & Photonics News (OPN) Magazine recently featured ground-breaking research from the Nanophotonics & Metamaterials Group at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). The group is led by Professor Nikolay Zheludev, one of the founding figures in the field.

The European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) was held in Glasgow this year. The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), based at the University of Southampton, had a strong presence at the conference, bringing many of its leading academics and showcasing two flagship programmes: the Future Photonics Hub and CORNERSTONE.

Following the success of last year's inaugural light trail, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens will once again open its gates after dark. The 180-acre arboretum site will be transformed with a series of light art installations by international artists and leading designers.

Semiconductors are essential ingredients of almost every electronic and photonic device on the planet. They are used in communications infrastructure, artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare, military technology, quantum and cloud computing, and everyday consumer devices such as white goods and smart meters.

The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have recently recruited Dr. Dong Yang Wang through the University of Southampton’s highly competitive Anniversary Fellowship Scheme. The scheme was launched in 2022 in support of the University Strategy and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the University’s Royal Charter.

Professor Graham Reed, Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and Co-Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub, has been awarded the 2023 SPIE Gold Medal, their highest honour. It has been awarded in recognition of his sustained and ongoing leadership in the silicon photonics field, particularly in the area of silicon photonics modulators, mid-IR silicon photonics, and integrated lidar.

Sir David Payne, Principal Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub and Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) has been awarded a major international prize in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Future Photonics Hub has played a significant role in growing the photonics sector in the UK and Lumenisity is one of its greatest success stories.

With a degree in laser physics and optoelectronics and a 20-year career as a physics teacher, it’s no surprise that Carol Monaghan, MP for Glasgow North West, has a special interest in photonics. A champion for the photonics sector in Westminster, she established the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Photonics and Quantum and is keen to see the realisation of the huge environmental and economic potential of optical technologies.

The function of the Hub is to use the incredible facilities and expertise in Southampton and Sheffield to de-risk ideas and show how new technologies can be made reproducibly, reliably and cheaply.

You’ll find photonics in your phone, your TV and even in the cameras that recorded this film. Integrated photonics is the idea of taking optical devices like lasers, LEDs or solar cells and intimately integrating them with electronics to create more complex devices.

Professor Jon Heffernan is the Deputy Director of the Future Photonics Hub and leads the National Epitaxy Facility, based at the University of Sheffield, which is pioneering the development and commercialisation of world leading quantum science and technology based on semiconductor quantum dots.

Professor David Richardson has been at the forefront of photonics research for the past 30 years. He has led various large collaborative optical communications research programmes in the UK and abroad...