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The ORC team at the Photonics @ Singapore Mega-conference.

Earlier this month, over 30 Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) staff joined with our dual centre partner, The Photonics Institute (TPI), Nanyang Technological University, at the largest ever photonics conference to be held in Singapore – the Photonics @ Singapore Mega-conference.

Combining three conferences in one: the 12th Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Pacific Rim (CLEO PR); the 22nd OptoElectronics and Communications Conference (OECC); and the 4th Photonics Global Conference 2017 (PGC), this was the first time Singapore had hosted a photonics conference of this magnitude, and the first time CLEO PR and OECC have been held in the sovereign city-state.

The five-day event aimed to foster interaction amongst academics, researchers, practitioners and students. Leading international scientists and engineers actively working in fields including nanophotonics, metamaterials, optical fibres, silicon photonics and related technologies, were brought together to share their unique experience and knowledge.

Over 45 industry exhibitors attended, along with more than 400 keynote and invited speakers, and 3000 delegates.

The ORC was well-represented over the five days, presenting over 20 papers and posters, and 12 seminars. There were significant standout achievements.

Most notably, Professor Sir David Payne, Director of the ORC, gave a talk on ‘The Doped-Fibre Journey and The EDFA’ in a session entitled ‘Rare-Earth-Doped Fibres on the 30th Anniversary of the EDFA’ presided by Professor Michalis Zervas (ORC), marking the 30th anniversary of the invention of the Erbium Doped Fibre Amplifier (EDFA). Professor Masataka Nakazawa (Tohoku University), a major global contributor to the EDFA development, also spoke to the packed audience.

Professor Nikolay Zheludev, Deputy Director of the ORC, also gave a keynote speech on ‘Optical Superoscillation Technologies: Sub diffraction Focusing and Label-free Imaging’.

The Photonics Institute hosted a Pavilion exhibition showcasing materials from each of the five TPI centres, as well as its affiliated programmes, including Silicon Photonics.

Achievements during the conference included ORC PhD student Amy Tong winning a best poster prize, presented to her by Professor Kent Choquette, president of the IEEE Photonics Society. Over 600 posters were presented in total, which makes Amy’s achievement even more significant.

Additionally, Inaugural Chapter Chair of the University of Southampton IEEE Photonics Society Student Chapter, Nicolas Wong, was invited to give a presentation at the IEEE Photonics Volunteer & Chapter conference luncheon to share experiences and best practices on setting-up and running a chapter, among other matters such as recruitment, events, and leadership.

Commenting on the event, Professor Sir David Payne, said: “Overall this mega-conference has been a huge success for photonics in general, and for our partners The Photonics Institute in Singapore. We have been able to cultivate our relationships with industry and world-class academics that continue to drive innovation on an international scale. I would particularly call out my co-Chair of the conference, Professor Perry Shum and his team, for doing a remarkable job in organising such an amazing event”.