ORC graduates celebrate
ORC graduates celebrated following this yearâs graduation ceremony on July 22nd. This year's event saw graduands from the ORC honoured by Dame Helen Alexander, Chancellor of the University, at Turner Sims Concert Hall alongside their cohorts in Physical Sciences and Engineering.
Celebrations continued following the platform ceremony at the packed reception. The new graduates, their supervisors, families and friends toasted their futures with a glass of champagne over an elegant spread for afternoon tea as the heat of the day finally relented.
Congratulations go to: Mohammad Belal, Sam Berry, Ming Ding, Thomas Franklin, Ee Leong Lim, Giuseppe Marra, Priyanth Mehta, Helen Rogers, Ehab Saleh, Jindan Shi and Andrew Webb.
The ORC has a history of turning out some of the photonics and communications industries best researchers and entrepreneurs and this year is no different. Priyanth Mehta is one such example: he was invited to present his ground-breaking research on nonlinear photonics in semiconductor fibres to funding bodies at this year's SET for Britain exhibition held in Parliament. Priyanth has embarked on a career in industry with global communications network equipment giant, Ciena, in submarine optical systems.
"Taking my PhD at the ORC provided me with the opportunity to research a variety of subject areas within fibre optics. This has allowed me to apply my specialisation to a diverse range of applications, broadening my career horizons" says Priyanth.
Not all of our graduates depart for industry: Dr Ehab Saleh has taken a role as Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham and Professor Sir David Payne was delighted to congratulate Dr Mohammad Belal, who has been appointed Research Fellow at the ORC. He will continue his work in areas such as optical fibre sensing development, for which he has received national publicity, and multi-mode amplification.
Dr Ming Ding and Dr Jindan Shi are also staying on to continue their work at the ORC under the doctoral training grant (DTG) award programme funded by EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council). The programme looks to attract the best of final year PhD students, whose research shows promise of excellence, enabling them to develop their PhD ideas and help launch a successful career in research.
The graduation ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the best in education. Professor Rob Eason and Dr Ping Hua both received the Vice-Chancellorâs Teaching Award . This award acknowledges outstanding contribution to education at the University. Ping and Rob have won it for their exemplary lecturing skills and their roles in making the new MSc Photonic Technologies such a success.
"I am very happy to gain recognition for my contribution towards this very first MSc programme for the ORC and the faculty of FPSE. The ORC is one of the worldâs leading institutes, and this MSc programme fulfils a growing demand for such a course as well as providing a new teaching platform to inspire and educate future leaders in the field of photonicsâ? commented Ping.
For downloadable photographs from the reception, view the ORC's Flickr account.
Published: 24 July 2013