Lei Su
Organisation: Queen Mary University of London Role: Reader in Photonics
Lei Su's current research is mainly concerned with sensors and instrumentation, optical devices and optoelectronic materials for imaging, detection, monitoring and communication. He believes the next big development in
the area will be 'single-crystal perovskite optoelectronic devices'. Due to their very high efficiency in
transporting electric charges from light, perovskites have become known as the “next generation” material for solar panels and LED displays, although Su does see challenges in scaling the technology and
Based in: London, UK Education: PhD, MRes, BEng
in manufacturing high-yield single-crystal perovskites. Following his PhD in fibre optics from
Nanyang Technological University, Lei Su did five years of postdoctoral training on optical chemical sensors and spectroscopy with Prof Stephen Elliott in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and then 18 months on biomedical optics and tissue fusion with Prof Dan Elson and Prof George Hanna at St Mary’s Hospital and Imperial College London. You can find Su online at
sems.qmul.ac.uk/ staff/
l.su. He hopes to attend OFC 2023.
Simon Thiele
Organisation: Printoptix Role: CTO
Simon Thiele sees 3D-printed optical systems as the next big thing in his area of research. Following the awarding of his PhD, ‘Design, simulation and process optimization for 3D direct laser writing of micro optics’ in 2019 at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Applied Optics (ITO), Thiele stayed on as the head of the ITO’s optical design team. He co-founded Printoptix in 2021
with CEO Nils Fahrbach. Both were part of the Stuttgart group that 3D-printed optical lenses the size of a human hair in 2016. Their company is still based at the
Michael Timmers
Organisation: FTTH Council Europe, Nokia Role: Deployment & Operations Committee Chair
Michael Timmers chairs the Deployment & Operations (D&O) Committee for the FTTH Council Europe – an industry association with a mission to advance full fibre- connectivity to the whole of Europe. Timmers is also a technologist in the
Fixed Networks CTO division at Nokia. Over his professional career, he has jumped back and forth between the fixed and wireless domains. He obtained a PhD on machine learning for radio before it became popular and has researched and introduced several innovative products to the market across
Based in: Antwerp, Belgium Education: PhD, telecommunications, KU Leuven
these different technologies: fixed wireless access, Wi-Fi, DSL, and fibre. His work within the D&O Committee sees
technology experts come together to debate and educate the broader telecom ecosystem and help stakeholders understand how to deploy high-quality full-fibre networks. He was instrumental in the launch of the FTTH Handbook, and more recently, the D&O Committee produced a white paper detailing the reasons that underpin the council’s position in favour of full fibre compared with alternative technologies.
Based in: Stuttgart, Germany Education: PhD, University of Stuttgart
university, with the Printoptix office sitting directly below the ITO. At April’s Laser World of Photonics,
Thiele and Fahrbach demonstrated a medical endoscope whose three-lens system had a diameter of 270µm, making it the smallest 120° field-of-view distortion-free imaging optic ever produced. He believes ‘establishing new polymer materials with optimum optical properties’ will be the biggest challenge over the next 12 months. You can find Thiele online at
linkedin.com/ in/simon-thiele-printoptix. He plans to attend Photonics West 2023 and Laser World of Photonics 2023.
2023 Photonics 100 57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
