Leaving Galway we headed northeast to Glasgow, Scotland for meetings with Scottish Universities at the University of Strathclyde. Several universities in Scotland have very strong photonics programs and a long history of working closely with the OSA; to the world wide photonics community Herriot Watt, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Strathclyde, are familiar names. Scottish roots in photonics predate the OSA, harkening back to James Clerk Maxwell, the father of classical electromagnetic theory.
Allister Ferguson, James Watt, and Tom Baer
My host, Professor Allister Ferguson, and I have known each other for close to 30 years and have many common friends and colleagues. I first met Allister when he spent time at Stanford working with Art Schawlaw back in the late 1970s. Allister was instrumental in helping develop CLEO Europe, working very closely with Kari Apter who is traveling with me.
Kari Apter and Allister Ferguson
The University of Strathclyde has a long tradition of encouraging entrepreneurship which has resulted in the creation of several local photonics companies over the past decade. The founder of the University, John Anderson, stressed the importance of a ‘practical education’ and encouraged strong interaction with local industry. I found many similarities to my home institution of Stanford University. Allister is the founder of the Institute of Photonics at Strathclyde. “The Institute of Photonics, established in 1996, is a commercially-oriented research unit, part of the University of Strathclyde. The Institute’s key objective is to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applications and development in the area of photonics.”
My visit was also hosted by the Strathclyde student chapter, with whom I met for a review of emerging photonics opportunities and a discussion of different career paths open to photonics students. I spent the day meeting with researchers in the Institute of Photonics and the Centre for Biophotonics discussing a broad program of research activities in optics and then met with professors from other Scottish Universities to discuss joint US/Scotland research programs. The Principle of the University, Professor Andrew Hamnett, organized a marvelous dinner “in college” and stressed the University of Strathclyde’s enthusiasm for and commitment to continue to support their photonics program.
