Jonathan C. Knight, (born 1964, in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

) is a British physicist. He is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) for the University of Bath where he has been Professor in the Department of Physics since 2000, and served as head of department. 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. Working with Russell and Tim Birks, he designed, fabricated and demonstrated a number of novel forms of optical fibre waveguide with previously unobtainable characteristics. This work has led to a range of outcomes including the commercialisation^, of a new form of light source ( supercontinuum), high power short pulse laser delivery through fibre, and applications in quantum and atomic physics. Belardi and Knight proposed the hollow-core "nested-ring" design for photonic fibres, at the beginning of 2014. 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.

Awards and recognition

*Elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 2019. * Rank Prize in Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Prize, 2018 * Institute of Physics Optics and Photonics Division Prize, 2012 *Fellow of Optical Society of America, 2011For pioneering development of the photonic crystal fiber and particularly its application in nonlinear frequency conversion and supercontinuum generation.
/ref> * Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, 2005–2006

Selected publications

* * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Physics at the University of BathProf Knight profile
at University of Bath.
Visit to Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics Why do we need new types of optical fibres?
in Physics World.
Professor Jonathan Knight on the Special Topic of Photonic Crystals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jonathan C. 1964 births Living people British physicists Academics of the University of Bath Optical physicists People from Lusaka Fellows of the Royal Society University of Cape Town alumni Academics of the University of Southampton