Dr Alistair Poustie is CEO and co-founder of Rushmere Technology, an optoelectronics company developing innovative products for the optical communications industry.
He has been active in optical comms for 30 years, working for blue chip and startup companies: BT, Corning, CIP Technologies, Huawei and Rushmere. His areas of technical expertise include optical access systems, photonics hardware technology and optical processing. He has published over 150 technical papers, over 25 patents and has worked on many collaborative R&D projects in the EU, USA and UK.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a member of the IEEE and OSA.
Andrew D. Ellis was born in Underwood, U.K., in 1965. He received the B.Sc. degree in physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K., in 1987. He received the Ph.D. degree in electronic and electrical engineering from The University of Aston in Birmingham, Birmingham, U.K., in 1997 for his study on all optical networking beyond 10 Gbit/s.
He previously worked for British Telecom Research Laboratories as a Senior Research Engineer investigating the use of optical amplifiers and advanced modulation formats in optical networks and the Corning Research Centre as a Senior Research Fellow where he led activities in optical component characterization. From 2003, he headed the Transmission and Sensors Group at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland, where he was also a member of the Department of Physics, University College Cork and his research interests included the evolution of core and metro networks, and the application of photonics to sensing.
He is now 50th Anniversary Professor of Optical Communications at Aston University where he is also deputy director of the Institute of Photonics Technologies (AiPT), and he holds adjunct professorships from University College Cork (Physics) and Dublin City University (RINCE). He has published over 200 journal papers and over 28 patents in the field of photonics, primarily targeted at increasing capacity, reach and functionality in the optical layer.
Prof. Ellis is a member of the Institute of Physics and a Chartered Physicist and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He served for 6 years as an associate editor of the journal Optics Express. Prof Ellis has been a member of the Technical Program Committee of ECOC since 2004 and two three year terms on the TPC of OFC. He is currently participating in the organization of ECOC 2019. Photo credit to Jackie Ellis LinkedIn
Liam Blackwell is Deputy Director for Cross Council Programmes, with responsibility for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s participation in the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme, its involvement in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, and its contribution to Health and Healthcare.
Prior to this he was Head of the Quantum Technologies Theme at EPSRC from 2015-2018. From 2008 to 2017 Liam was the Head of the Information and Communications Technologies Theme at EPSRC, responsible for the EPSRC’s strategy for ICT research and training.
Before joining the EPSRC in 2000, Liam Blackwell completed his PhD in material science at the University of Leeds and spent two years working at the technology centre of a Devon based clay mining company. At the EPSRC he has also worked in the Physics Programme team, Engineering Programme team and on delivery of the EPSRC's strategy for nanotechnology. Outside of work Liam is a keen hiker and skier.
Richard graduated from the University of Sheffield with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 1994. Following three years as a postdoctoral researcher working in Experimental Mechanics, he joined the Experimental Stress Analysis group at Airbus in Bristol where he developed and implemented a variety of optical stress and deformation measurement techniques for structural testing. During this time, he sponsored many postgraduate research projects and led the development of the Structures Test R&D strategy for Airbus, as well as managing the associated trans-national test programme.
Having followed a postgraduate training pathway, Richard delivered technical solutions in his field of expertise, with a focus on the usual business challenges of optimising cost, time and quality. He understands the value of collaborative engagement well, and during his career at Airbus, alongside chairmanship of the British Society for Strain Measurement, he fostered the development of stronger links between industry, academia and related technical societies – he is a strong believer in the industrial application of high-level academic research and skills.
As Director of the PGI, Richard continues to fulfil his passion for industry and academic collaboration. It is an ideal platform for postgraduate training, leading to the development of extremely desirable skills and capabilities that the benefit industry and academia alike, but most importantly, because they enhance the career prospects for postgraduate researchers.
You can read all about the first five years of the PGI here LinkedIn
The Postgraduate Institute of Measurement Science: Celebrating 5 Years of Collaboration Download slides (.pdf)
Prof Jesse Thaler is the inaugural Director of the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions. He is a theoretical particle physicist who fuses techniques from quantum field theory and machine learning to address outstanding questions in fundamental physics. His current research is focused on maximizing the discovery potential of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) through new theoretical frameworks and novel data analysis techniques.
Prof. Thaler is an expert in jets, which are collimated sprays of particles that are copiously produced at the LHC, and he studies the substructure of jets to enhance the search for new phenomena and illuminate the dynamics of gauge theories. He is also interested in new strategies to probe the nature of dark matter at the LHC and beyond.
Prof. Thaler joined the MIT Physics Department in 2010, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Center for Theoretical Physics. From 2006 to 2009, he was a fellow at the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2006, and his Sc.B. in Math/Physics from Brown University in 2002. He was awarded an Early Career Research Award from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2011, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House in 2012, a Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2013, and a Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award from MIT in 2016.
Fun Fact
As an undergraduate, Jesse Thaler was a late-night jazz radio DJ on 95.5 WBRU, using the radio name ""Lester"" after the legendary tenor saxophonist Lester Young. LinedIn
"Collision Course - Artificial Intelligence meets Fundamental Physics"
Professor Tim Spiller moved to York in 2014 as founding Director of the York Centre for Quantum Technologies and he is now also Director of the UK Quantum Communications Hub.
Prior to this he was at the University of Leeds in the roles of Head of the Quantum Information Group and Director of Research for the School of Physics and Astronomy. Prior to 2009 Spiller was Director of Quantum Information Processing (QIP) Research at HP Labs Bristol – an activity that he established in 1995 – and a Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Scientist.
He has spent 40 years researching quantum theory, superconducting systems and quantum hardware and technologies. He led HP’s strategy on the commercialisation of QIP research, is an inventor on 25 patents linked to quantum technologies and applications, and was additionally a consultant inside HP on networking, communications and nanotechnology.
Liam Bussey graduated in 2018 with a Masters Degree in Physics from the University of Kent. He is working as research professional with the Network Physics team of BT's Applied Research division. He is looking at introducing quantum technologies to the communication industry.
