Rate My Professor Stephen Sweeney

Professor Stephen Sweeney is Professor of Photonics and Nanotechnology in the Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering division of the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. He holds a BSc in Applied Physics and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) from the University of Bath and a PhD in Semiconductor Laser Physics from the University of Surrey. After completing postdoctoral positions, he joined Marconi Optical Components as a Scientist and advanced to Lead Scientist of the Laser and Amplifier Technology group. He then returned to the University of Surrey as a Lecturer, was promoted to Chair in Physics in 2010, led the Photonics group based in the Advanced Technology Institute from 2010 to 2015, and served as Head of the Department of Physics from 2015 to 2018. In 2022, he relocated his research group to the University of Glasgow as Professor of Photonics and Nanotechnology. Previously serving as Convenor of Postgraduate Studies, he currently heads the Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering Division.

Professor Sweeney's research specializations include developing new semiconductors for photonic devices such as lasers and photovoltaics, as well as photonic systems for communications, lighting, energy, biosciences, health, and space-based photonics, with a focus on near- and mid-infrared laser technologies for high-efficiency optical communications, sensing, metrology, and photonic integration. He received a prestigious EPSRC Leadership Fellowship. Sweeney is Chief Technology Officer for UK photonics start-up Zinir Ltd and has sat on editorial boards of IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics and Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, while guest editing IET Optoelectronics, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, and IOP Semiconductor Science and Technology. He serves on committees including the EPSRC III-V National Centre Steering Committee and advises funding agencies such as the EU, US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Singapore Research Agency, Enterprise Ireland, Leibnitz Foundation, and FWO Belgium. He has chaired conferences in semiconductors and photonics and was President of the Physics and Astronomy section of the British Science Association in 2015. Sweeney is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a Fellow of SPIE. Key publications include 'The physics of bismide-based lasers' (2019), 'The physics of mid-infrared semiconductor materials and heterostructures' (2019), 'Exploring high efficiency PCSELs using probabilistic Markov chain model' (2026), and 'Mid-infrared InAs/InP quantum-dot lasers' (2026).