Michael J SteelMichael J. Steel is a Professor of physics in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University in northern Sydney, Australia. His research interests include theoretical nonlinear optics and quantum optics in waveguides, with prticular focus on properties of periodic waveguides, generation and manipulation of photon states, opto-acoustic interactions in waveguides, and experimental and theoretical properties of optical devices generated by femtosecond laser direct write processing. Prof. Steel received his PhD in theoretical nonlinear optics in 1996 from the University of Sydney followed by postdoctoral work on Bose-Einstein condensation at the University of Auckland and photonic crystals at Columbia University. In late 2000, he joined the photonic design software company RSoft, where he wrote a number of software tools including advanced physical models for optical communication link-level simulation, and the world's first commercial photonic band structure analysis tool, BandSOLVE, used in companies and universities throughout the world. In 2007 he joined Macquarie University as an associate professor in optics. From 2016-2021 he was Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, also serving as Interim Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics during 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, he led a major initiative for Macquarie University to acquire the technology arm of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, and served as Interim Director of the new Australian Astronomical Optics Department of the University from 2018-2019. He has been Secretary of the Australian and New Zealand Optical Society (ANZOS) since January 2021. Read More Read Less