Professor Nail Akhmediev is one of the leading researchers in theoretical nonlinear optics internationally. He is a Professor in the Optical Sciences Group of the Australian National University. He was made a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in recognition of his work on nonlinear guided optics. He is also a member of LEOS and the Australian Optical Society. He is an associate editor of Optics Express. He has published over 200 papers in refereed international journals, more than 100 conference papers, a book "Solitons, nonlinear pulses and beams" Chapman and Hall, London (1997) with Dr. Ankiewicz and several chapters in books. He is the recipient of the DSc degree from the Higher Qualification Commission for the Counsel of Ministers of the USSR, and the PhD and the MS degrees, both from Moscow State University.
Dr. Adrian Ankiewicz has degrees in science and electrical engineering. He has published more than 120 papers in international journals. His research interests include optical fibres and planar waveguides, encompassing couplers, splitters and wavelength demultiplexers, for communications and devices; use of nonlinear effects in fibres, especially soliton transmission in fibres and dissipative solitons. He has given undergraduate lectures in these subjects for some years.