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Andrew Forbes

Andrew Forbes

Andrew has at various times in his career found himself as teacher, janitor, secretary, receptionist, web-master, systems engineer, sales rep, manager, director, and sometimes a scientist. Andrew is presently a Distinguished Professor within the School of Physics at the U. Witwatersrand (South Africa) where in 2015 he established a new laboratory for Structured Light. Andrew is active in promoting photonics in Africa, a founding member of the Photonics Initiative of South Africa and initiator of South Africa’s Quantum Roadmap. He is a Fellow of SPIE, the OSA (now Optica), the SAIP, and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. He holds an A-rating by the South African NRF, 3 honorary professorships, is editor-in-chief of the UK’s Journal of Optics and sits on the editorial board of three other international journals. Andrew has won several awards, including the NSTF national award for his contributions to photonics in South Africa, the Georg Forster prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for outstanding contributions to photonics, and the SAIP Gold Medal, the highest award for physics in South Africa, making him the youngest winner to date. Most recently he was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award, the highest award for research from the university. Andrew spends his time having fun with the taxpayers’ money, exploring structured light in lasers as well as classical and quantum optics. 

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  • Organization
    South African Quantum Technology Initiative
  • Profession
    Director
Related sessions
Discovery - Quantum for Good
Online
9 October 2025
•
12:30 - 14:00
EST - New York
CST - Beijing
PST - Los Angeles
AWST - Perth, Australia
Quantum World Tour: South Africa
As a scientific powerhouse on the African continent, South Africa...
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