Prof. Stephen Hughes

Short Biography

Dr. Hughes is a full Professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where he has been since 2005. He did his undergraduate studies and PhD work at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then carried out postdoctoral work in Germany, Japan, and the USA. He also worked for several photonics start-up companies including Lumerical Solutions Inc., a world leading optical software company based in Vancouver, which he co-founded in 2003, and who were successfully acquired by Ansys in 2020. His research group at Queen's has been focusing on the theory and applications of light-matter interactions and quantum optics in photonic nanostructures, contributing to both basic science and emerging nano- and quantum- technologies, and collaborating with a range of leading experimental and theoretical groups. Dr. Hughes has authored or co-authored hundreds of scientific articles in the premier optics and physics journals. Research honours include an Ontario Early Research Award, a CFI Leaders Opportunity Award, a Queen’s Chancellor’s Research Award, a Queen’s Prize for Excellence in Research, an NSERC Discovery Accelerator Award, a CFI Innovation Fund, and a Humboldt Research Award. Dr. Hughes is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP) in the UK, and a Fellow of the Optical Society (now Optica).