Dr Horak obtained his PhD degree in Theoretical Quantum Optics from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He joined the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton in 2001 where he now heads the Computational Nonlinear Optics group. The group’s main interest is the theoretical and numerical simulation of a wide range of photonics systems, from fundamental physics to device and systems design, with an emphasis on nonlinear and quantum optics in optical fibre and integrated waveguide geometries. He is a partner of WP2 in NQIT where his group is working closely with the experimental groups at Sussex and Oxford to investigate and optimise the interaction of trapped ions with photons inside optical resonators.