Biography:Peter Kazansky

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Peter Kazansky
Alma materMoscow State University
Prokhorov General Physics Institute
Known for5D optical data storage
AwardsLenin Komsomol Prize (1989)
Fellow of Optica (2007)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, optics, photonics
InstitutionsUniversity of Southampton
Doctoral advisorAlexander Prokhorov

Peter Kazansky is a physicist and professor at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) of the University of Southampton. His research focuses on laser-matter interaction, optical data storage, nonlinear optics and photonic materials. He is associated with the development of 5D optical data storage, a method of encoding data in nanostructured silica glass.[1][2]

In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (now Optica) for contributions to the study of light- and electric-field-induced phenomena in optical materials.[3]

Early life and education

Kazansky earned a Master of Science degree in physics from Moscow State University in 1979. He received a PhD from the General Physics Institute in 1985 under the supervision of Nobel Prize laureate Alexander Prokhorov.[4][5] Between 1989 and 1993, he led a research group at the General Physics Institute investigating nonlinear optical effects in glass materials.[6]

Academic career

Kazansky joined the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton in 1992. He was appointed professor in 2001 and became head of the Physical Optics research group.[7][1]

He has also served as director of the International Centre of Laser Technologies at Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology and as vice-chair of the Technical Committee on Glasses for Optoelectronics of the International Commission on Glass.[5]

Research

5D optical data storage

Main article: 5D optical data storage

Kazansky's research includes ultrafast laser nanostructuring in glass and optical data storage technologies.[8][9] In collaboration with researchers from Kyoto University, his group demonstrated a form of optical data storage in which information is encoded in silica glass using femtosecond laser pulses.[10] In 2014, the technology was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most durable digital data storage medium.[11][12]

Kazansky's group also demonstrated the storage of historical documents and genomic datasets in silica glass, including the human genome.[13][14]

Project Silica

Kazansky served as the Southampton principal investigator in a research collaboration with Microsoft Research beginning in 2016, aimed at developing glass-based archival storage technologies for cloud data systems.[15]

In 2019, researchers from Microsoft and the University of Southampton successfully encoded and retrieved the 1978 film Superman on silica glass as part of Project Silica.[16][17]

Optical elements and fibre photonics

Kazansky's research included the development of laser-written geometric-phase optical elements, including the S-waveplate, used for polarization beam shaping.[18] His earlier research at Southampton also contributed to the development of periodically poled silica fibre technology, enabling frequency doubling in all-fibre formats.[19]

Commercial activities

In 2024, Kazansky co-founded SPhotonix, a company developing optical storage technologies based on glass nanostructuring.[20] He serves as the company's Chief Scientific Officer while retaining his academic position at the University of Southampton.[citation needed]

Awards and honours

In 1989, Kazansky received the Lenin Komsomol Prize for research on the circular photogalvanic effect in crystals.[21][22]

In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (now Optica) for contributions to the study of light- and electric-field-induced phenomena in optical materials.[23][24]

Selected publications

  • Shimotsuma, Y.; Kazansky, P. G. (2003). "Self-organized nanogratings in glass irradiated by ultrashort light pulses". Physical Review Letters 91 (24). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.247405. 
  • Zhang, J.; Kazansky, P. G. (2014). "Seemingly unlimited lifetime data storage in nanostructured glass". Physical Review Letters 112 (3). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.033901. 
  • Kazansky, P. G. (1999). "Anomalous anisotropic light scattering in Ge-doped silica glass". Optics Letters 24 (10): 646–648. doi:10.1364/OL.24.000646. 

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Physical Optics". https://www.southampton.ac.uk/research/groups/physical-optics. 
  2. ↑ Reynolds, Emily (2016-02-16). "This piece of glass is our latest attempt to store humanity's data forever". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/eternal-5d-data-storage-southampton/. 
  3. ↑ "ORC academics elected OSA Fellows". https://www.orc.soton.ac.uk/news/5482. 
  4. ↑ "Peter Kazansky, PhD's Profile Page". https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/editor/peter-kazansky-phd. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kazansky, Peter. "Peter Kazansky biography" (PDF). University of Southampton. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/54060/1/3189.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "Peter Kazansky: Nanostructures in glass will store data for billions of years". 2016-03-11. https://spie.org/news/kazansky-video. 
  7. ↑ "Ultrafast laser materials processing uncovers new anisotropy effects". https://www.spie.org/news/6365-eternal-5d-data-storage-via-ultrafast-laser-writing-in-glass. 
  8. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (2018-02-09). "The special data device SpaceX's Falcon Heavy sent to orbit is just the start". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/09/the-special-data-device-spacexs-falcon-heavy-sent-to-orbit-is-just-the-start/. 
  9. ↑ "Advances in physical storage and retrieval made the cloud possible". The Economist. 2020-02-22. https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2020/02/22/advances-in-physical-storage-and-retrieval-made-the-cloud-possible. 
  10. ↑ Reynolds, Emily (2016-02-16). "This piece of glass is our latest attempt to store humanity's data forever". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/eternal-5d-data-storage-southampton/. 
  11. ↑ "Most durable digital storage medium". 2014-01-23. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/412399-most-durable-digital-storage-medium. 
  12. ↑ "5D Memory Crystal Could Preserve Human DNA for Billions of Years". 2024-09-20. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/5d-memory-crystal-could-preserve-human-dna-for-billions-of-years-391184. 
  13. ↑ Kennedy, Niamh (2024-09-20). "Scientists stored the entire human genome on a crystal capable of surviving for billions of years". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/20/science/human-genome-crystal-intl-scli/index.html. 
  14. ↑ "Human genome stored on 'everlasting' memory crystal". 2024-09-19. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2024/09/human-genome-stored-on-everlasting-memory-crystal-.page. 
  15. ↑ Tung, Liam (2019-11-05). "Microsoft: Here's why we stored the whole Superman movie inside a bit of glass". ZDNet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-heres-why-we-stored-the-whole-superman-movie-inside-a-bit-of-glass/. 
  16. ↑ "Classic feature film captured in glass in research collaboration with Microsoft". 2019-11-08. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2019/11/superman-glass-crystal.page. 
  17. ↑ Lee, Gayoung (2026-02-18). "Microsoft's Glass Chip Holds Terabytes of Data for 10,000 Years". Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-glass-chip-holds-terabytes-of-data-for-10000-years-2000723455. 
  18. ↑ "Geometric phase optical elements produced by femtosecond laser nanostructuring". https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/438478/. 
  19. ↑ Kazansky, P. G.; Pruneri, V. (1997). "Frequency doubling in periodically poled silica fibres". Electronics Letters 33 (4): 318–319. doi:10.1049/el:19970177. 
  20. ↑ Claburn, Thomas (2025-12-14). "SPhotonix develops 5D optical storage technology". The Register. https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/14/sphotonix_moves_5d_memory_crystal/. 
  21. ↑ Kazansky, Peter G.. "Peter Kazansky biography" (PDF). IEEE UKRI LEOS. https://ewh.ieee.org/r8/ukri/leos/Abstracts/ULI/Peter%20Kazansky.pdf. 
  22. ↑ Kazansky, Peter. "Peter Kazansky biography" (PDF). University of Southampton. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/54060/1/3189.pdf. 
  23. ↑ "ORC academics elected OSA Fellows". https://www.orc.soton.ac.uk/news/5482. 
  24. ↑ "2007 Fellows". https://www.optica.org/get_involved/awards_and_honors/fellow_members/elected_fellows/2007_fellows/. 



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