Professor David Richardson FRS, FREng is a Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre/Zepler Institute and is Head of the ORC Fibre and Laser Group. He has worked on a diverse array of optical fibre related research topics during his >30 year career at the ORC including the development of novel forms of optical fibre, telecommunications, high power fibre lasers and distributed optical fibre sensors. He is globally recognised as a leading authority in optical fibre technology and its applications.