Biography:Jonathan C. Knight

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Short description: British physicist (born 1964)
Jonathan Cave Knight
Jonathan Knight.jpg
Born17 June 1964 (1964-06-17)
Lusaka, Zambia
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Cape Town
Known forPhotonic-crystal fiber
Optical Fibers
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, photonics
InstitutionsUniversity of Bath
ThesisWhispering gallery mode microlaser in a capillary fibre (1993)
Doctoral advisorG N Robertson, H S T Driver

Jonathan C. Knight, FRS (born 1964, in Lusaka) is a British physicist. He is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) for the University of Bath[1] where he has been Professor in the Department of Physics since 2000, and served as head of department.[2] From 2005 to 2008, he was founding Director of the university's Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials.

Education

Knight studied at the University of Cape Town where he obtained his B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. and PhD. His doctoral thesis was on whispering gallery mode microlasers. He did postdoctoral research at the École Normale Supérieure (Paris, 1994–1995) and at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (University of Southampton, 1995–1996).

Research

Knight is interested in the behaviour of light in microstructured materials, and in the physics of optical fibres.[3] Working with Russell and Tim Birks, he designed, fabricated and demonstrated a number of novel forms of optical fibre waveguide with previously unobtainable characteristics.[4][5] This work has led to a range of outcomes including the commercialisation[6],[7] of a new form of light source (supercontinuum), high power short pulse laser delivery through fibre, and applications in quantum and atomic physics.[8] Belardi and Knight proposed the hollow-core "nested-ring" design for photonic fibres, at the beginning of 2014.[9] Together with William Wadsworth, Knight co-created a new kind of laser capable of pulsed and continuous mid-infrared (IR) emission between 3.1 and 3.2 microns, a spectral range that has long presented a major challenge for laser developers.[10]

Awards and recognition

Selected publications

References

  1. Knight, Jonathan. "Leadership profile". University of Bath. https://www.bath.ac.uk/profiles/pro-vice-chancellor-research-jonathan-knight/. 
  2. Harris, Margaret (18 December 2008). "Top UK physics departments tumble in new assessment". Physics World. https://physicsworld.com/a/top-uk-physics-departments-tumble-in-new-assessment//. 
  3. Jonathan Knight publications indexed by Google Scholar
  4. "Physics professors receive Rank Prize for optical fibre discoveries". My Science. 15 February 2018. https://www.myscience.org.uk/wire/physics_professors_receive_rank_prize_for_optical_fibre_discoveries-2018-Bath/. 
  5. Gabriel, Gache (18 January 2008). "Newly Designed Optical Fiber Is Hollow". Softpedia. https://news.softpedia.com/news/Newly-Designed-Optical-Fiber-is-Hallow-76654.shtml/. 
  6. Sabert, Hendrik; Knight, Jonathan. "Hollow-Core Fibers Seek the 'Holey' Grail". Photonics Spectra. https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Hollow-Core_Fibers_Seek_the_Holey_Grail/a16628/. 
  7. Lloyd, Hywel. "8m deal as city firm sells assets to rival". Bath Chronicle. 
  8. Wadsworth, William; Knight, Jonathan; Birks, Tim. "State-of-the-Art Photonic Crystal Fiber". Optics and Photonics News. https://www.osa-opn.org/home/articles/volume_23/issue_3/features/of-the-art_photonic_crystal_fiber/. 
  9. Wallace, John (28 October 2014). "Hollow-core antiresonant optical fibers: Part II". Laser Focus World. https://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2014/10/hollow-core-antiresonant-optical-fibers-part-ii.html/. 
  10. "New laser achieves wavelength long sought by laser developers". Phys.Org. https://phys.org/news/2016-02-laser-wavelength-sought.html/. 
  11. "Distinguished scientists elected as Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society, 16 April 2019"
  12. "Past Prizes in Optoelectronics". http://www.rankprize.org/index.php/prizes/optoelectronics. 
  13. "For the invention and realisation of photonic crystal fibres."
  14. For pioneering development of the photonic crystal fiber and particularly its application in nonlinear frequency conversion and supercontinuum generation.

External links