My research and design methodology of optical fibers relies heavily on a highly interdisciplinary approach that marries waveguide engineering and materials science. We owe many of the amazing capabilities of optical fiber to the pioneering work of materials scientists, whose efforts resulted in the mass-production of the low-loss optical fibers which connect our modern world. Soon after the development of the first low loss fiber in the 1970’s, waveguide designers were inspired to develop a wide range of fiber structures that enhance the capabilities of fiber-based systems. Well-known examples include dispersion shifted and tailored fibers, polarization maintaining fibers, and ‘holey’ (or micro- and nano-structured) fibers, to name a few. As such, optical waveguide design (predominantly utilizing silica as the material medium) has traditionally driven most, but not all, advancement in the field of optical fiber technology, with the materials science aspects becoming largely relegated to small niche applications. Today, this practice continues, and hence fiber and fiber laser development now advances only incrementally.