The Optoelectronics Research Centre is the largest research group in its field in Europe, and one of the largest in the world, with 390 staff and students, 80 laser labs, dedicated cleanrooms offering fibre fabrication, integrated optics, silicon photonics, nanoelectronic fabrication, etc.

 

The group led by Prof Peter G.R. Smith focuses on integrated optics devices, nonlinear materials and fabrication of devices. It has unique facilities including UV laser direct write, periodic poling, physical micromachining with sub-nanometre surface finishes and fibre Bragg gratings. Collaborative work with many groups including NIST, Oxford, Imperial has led to first demonstrations including the first results on Boson Sampling, On-chip teleportation and on integrated transition edge sensors. The PPLN company Covesion is a spin-out from the group.

 

Prof Smith is the Associate Vice President for International Projects at the University of Southampton. In this role he leads for the University on Research Networks such as WUN, RENKEI and GFCC.

 

He leads the Optical Engineering and Quantum Photonics Group at Southampton, comprising 25 researchers, working in the areas of Quantum Technologies, Optical Fabrication, etc.

 

He holds an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship in Quantum Technologies. Following study in Physics at St John’s College, Oxford he worked in the City of London before joining the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton. He is an active researcher in Optical waveguides and optical fabrication, with particular interests in Quantum Technology, planar Bragg gratings and nonlinear optical materials. Recent work in the area of waveguide quantum optics has led to papers in Science and Nature Comms. The joint work with University of Oxford, and NIST, has been featured in Scientific American, Wired, New Scientist, etc.

 

Career History

 

• Associate Vice-President International Projects (Oct 2020-)

• Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Projects) (Sept 2017-Sept 2020)

• Interim CEO and Pro Vice-Chancellor Malaysia Campus (Sept 2017-2018 )

• Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor International (Mar 2015-Sept 2017)

• Associate Dean of Enterprise and International (August 2010-July 2014)

• Professor of Optoelectronics (since 2004), previously Reader (2000), Lecturer (1997) and Research Fellow (1994) with Academic Teaching Appointment in Electronics and Computer Science

 

He was a founder of Stratophase Ltd and is currently a Director of Covesion Ltd (www.covesion.com).

 

He was a Director of ECS Partners from 2011 to 2015 Scientifically he has 203 publications (from Web of Science), 16 licensed patents, h-index of 37, and > £100m (total as PI and Co-I), £11m of research grants (as PI or equivalent).