Theoretical Optics and Photonics

Our group performs research in theoretical photonics and related fields. We are based in the Division of Physics and Applied Physics at the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

See the Research page for a description of some recent projects.

Our group may have openings for graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows. Please see the Research page for a summary of our current research topics, and contact us if you are interested. Graduate students may be eligible for scholarships.

Recent highlights

• Laser mode braiding on a chip (Nature Physics 2026): programmable braiding of non-Hermitian laser modes on an integrated photonic chip.
• Topological photonic crystal fiber (Science Advances 2025): an optical fiber that guides light using bandstructure topology.
• Photonic axion insulator (Science 2025): a photonic analog of a long-sought topological phase of matter.
• Dirac mass induced by optical gain and loss (Nature 2024).
• Our textbook Complex Methods for Scientists and Engineers is published by World Scientific (2025) (see the Teaching page).