Andrew Forbes

Research Statement

AI generated · Oct 25, 2026

Andrew Forbes's indexed work centers on structured light—engineering the spatial, vector, and orbital-angular-momentum degrees of freedom of laser beams. His most-cited first-author review, structured light as a field and its applications, anchors this program, while controlled generation of higher-order Poincaré sphere beams directly from a laser established how complex vector modes can be produced at source rather than shaped externally. A related review on complex vector light fields and their applications extends this into a coherent account of the topic. Beyond these, his senior-author contributions include a digital laser for on-demand laser modes, an approach to reconfiguring laser output without physical optics, and higher-dimensional orbital-angular-momentum quantum key distribution using mutually unbiased bases, which connects structured light to quantum cryptography. He also contributed to the collaborative Roadmap on structured light, helping map the field's open directions. No software, datasets, patents, or grants appear in the indexed record, so the publicly visible arc is publication-led: from generating and characterizing complex light fields toward their use in communication and quantum protocols, alongside collaborators such as Cheng‐Wei Qiu.

Most Cited Works

Structured light

Andrew Forbes, Michael De Oliveira, Mark R. Dennis

Nature Photonics2021

1,386Citations

Towards higher-dimensional structured light

Chao He, Yijie Shen, Andrew Forbes

Light Science & Applications2022

633Citations

Research Areas

Orbital Angular Momentum in OpticsQuantum Information and CryptographyOptical Systems and Laser TechnologyMetamaterials and Metasurfaces ApplicatiRandom lasers and scattering media

Affiliations & Education

Education

1994–2021
University of KwaZulu-Natal(ZA)
PhD · Physics

Employment

2015–present· now
University of the Witwatersrand(ZA)
Distinguished Professor · School of Physocs

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Sources