The new partnership will provide high-performance computer and laboratory equipment to a research team based in the University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The company will also fund a Bookham Technology Research Fellow and a Bookham Technology Lectureship in Optoelectronic Simulation – a post which the University has pledged to make permanent once the three years have elapsed.
In return the centre will deliver sophisticated designs and modelling software based upon the University’s extensive leading-edge research in the field of optoelectronic simulation, led by Professor Trevor Benson and Dr Phillip Sewell.
Bookham Technology is committed to keeping strong ties within the academic community, said Andrew Rickman, Executive Chairman, Bookham Technology, speaking at an opening ceremony for the centre. The UK has developed a formidable reputation in the field of optoelectronics, and Nottingham is a part of this. We believe that it is in the interests of both academia and business to collaborate in maintaining and extending that lead: this partnership is the first in a co-ordinated programme that will maximise Bookham Technology’s part in that effort.
The new equipment supplied to the University researchers will allow them to develop cutting-edge simulation tools for the design and modelling of complex optoelectronic components and to optimise their effectiveness and efficiency for this dynamic marketplace. The University will also offer training and expertise to staff at Bookham Technology and the strong links could also provide a direct career path for students within the school.
Professor Trevor Benson in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said: This commitment from Bookham Technology, a major player in the industry, recognises the ability of the researchers here at the University and the quality of their work.
We are confident that this will raise the profile of the school, both in research and academic terms, and it will allow us to offer an attractive package which should attract the most able researchers and students to the University.
Bookham Technology is the leading supplier of silicon-based integrated optoelectronic components for use in communications systems. The company’s products help the communications industry to supply the rapidly-increasing demand for information – including Internet, e-mail, cable TV and mobile telephony. It recently announced the industry’s first integrated multiplexer and variable optical attenuator (MUX-VOA) module, which combines 80 optical functions into a single silicon chip.
The Bookham Technology funded research centre in Optoelectronic Simulation will be launched on Tuesday February 27 at 12.30pm in Lecture Theatre 209 on the 2nd floor of the Tower Block building on The University of Nottingham’s University Park campus.
