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See optics entrepreneur explain how UK companies can capitalise on photonics research at free event
UK companies have a unique opportunity to learn how to translate academic photonics research into commercial benefits from a leading optical component manufacturing entrepreneur. Dr Andrew Rickman OBE, Co-founder and Chairman of Rockley Photonics, will speak at the Future Photonics Hub Industry Day at the University of Southampton on September 13th.
The Future Photonics Hub, led by the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), is the UK’s centre for helping those who, like Dr Rickman, want to bring photonics research to industry.
“Nothing has changed life more in the history of humanity than the invention of the silicon electronic chip,” says Dr Rickman. “The silicon photonics chip is the next big step. The UK has leaders in this field – Professor Graham Reed’s Silicon Photonics Group at the ORC and Rockley Photonics.”
Dr Rickman will give the keynote address in a day filled with exchanges between industry and academia to identify and develop opportunities. Discussions will also include the latest technical capabilities developed by Hub researchers, the impact of the EU referendum and how increasing digitisation in industry is affecting UK photonics. The event is free to attend and open to both existing Hub partners and new prospective collaborators - register now to attend.
Dr Rickman offers an unrivalled perspective on bridging the ‘valley of death’ that often occurs when taking scientific discoveries from the lab to commercialisation. He founded his first company Bookham Technology in 1988 and grew it from a start-up to world number two in optical communications components. In the process he became Britain’s first internet billionaire, and then fought for Bookham’s survival when the dot-com bubble burst. He left the company in 2005 and it merged with Avanex in 2009 to become tier-one component supplier Oclaro.
Meanwhile, Dr Rickman became Chairman of silicon photonics firm Kotura Inc, which was sold to Mellanox Technologies for $82 million in 2013. Soon afterwards, he founded Rockley Photonics, a developer of novel optical packet switching solutions for mega datacentre networks, where he is CEO. “Rockley Photonics’ collaboration with Southampton is fundamentally based on the very high standard and international reputation of the Hub’s research team, as well as a close working relationship and mutual respect,” Dr Rickman says. “Our methodology to directing the research is having a detailed system model, with commercial understanding, in which we define ‘black boxes’. Invent the function in the black box and you have something commercially important.”
The Future Photonics Hub is headed up by director Professor Sir David Payne, the University of Southampton optical fibre pioneer. Professor Payne is one of many experts involved in the Hub who together provide an outstanding level of knowledge, Dr Rickman underlines; “Rockley Photonics is supporting and collaborating with researchers in universities and institutes throughout Europe and California,” he says. “We are involved in research in China. We are in a good position to judge Southampton's work in a global context and it is truly world class and commercially relevant. Overall,
Southampton is best in the world.”
The Hub’s industry day will provide a platform for its researchers to showcase the latest advances in mid-IR and III-V semiconductor light sources, next-generation materials and metamaterials, with an emphasis on immediate industrial relevance and future developments. Professor Payne will open the event with a welcome address and key researchers will be available for 'mini meetings' to facilitate collaborative projects with direct industry input. These speed-networking one-to-ones can be pre-booked during event registration – early booking is recommended as places are limited.
Leading academics are available for one-to-one meetings, while companies will be exhibiting at the September 13th Future Photonics Hub Industry Day – be part of this EPSRC Future Manufacturing Research Hub’s inaugural event.
Companies seeking to demonstrate their capabilities and build relationships with collaborators and customers will have the opportunity to do so as part of the event’s exhibition space. Stands are now available for booking through the dedicated exhibition website:
http://www.xmarkmedia.com/futurephotonicshub/exhibiting-information.html
Non-exhibitors can register for the Future Photonics Hub Industry Day now at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-photonics-hub-industry-day-tickets-26073118399
Notes for editors:
About the Future Photonics Hub: Launched in January 2016, the Future Photonics Hub is an EPSRC Future Manufacturing Research Hub led by the University of Southampton, partnered with the
University of Sheffield. The Hub focuses on developing new industry-ready manufacturing processes by understanding, adapting and integrating photonics in four critical technology areas: light generation and delivery, high-performance silica fibres, silicon photonics and the manufacturing of 2D materials and metamaterials. The aim is to improve cross-platform capability, reliability, yield and cost, working with partners and end-users across a wide range of industry sectors, including oil and gas, imaging, aerospace, defence and security, ICT and telecommunications, energy, manufacturing and healthcare. http://www.photonicshubuk.org
Posted by rc2c12@sot on 23 Aug 2016.