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Dr Andrew Forbes received his BSc (Physics/Mathematics) in 1990, followed in 1991 by his BSc Hons (Physics) and in 1998 by his PhD (Physics), from the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) in Durban, South Africa. His doctoral thesis considered photo-thermal effects due to high-power laser beams. He has spent several years working as an applied laser physicist, first for the South African Atomic Energy Corporation on high-power lasers for the MLIS process for uranium enrichment, later focusing on gas lasers for laser ultrasonic applications. He is presently a principal researcher at the CSIR National Laser Centre (Pretoria, South Africa) and is research group leader of the mathematical optics and user facility groups. His research interests include laser beam propagation through linear, non-linear and turbulent media, wavefront measurement, modelling and control for laser beam shaping applications, and laser resonator analysis and design.
Forbes is a senior member of SPIE, an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light, and chairs the 2009 SPIE Laser Beam Shaping conference. He is also chair of the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) and the laser optics and spectroscopy specialist group, and acts as SAIP secretary. Forbes is an honorary staff member of the School of Physics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
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