Rate My Professor Boris Kuhlmey

Boris Kuhlmey is Professor in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. He completed undergraduate studies at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and earned a PhD in 2003 through a cotutelle program between the University of Sydney School of Physics and Université Aix-Marseille III. His doctoral thesis, "Theoretical and Numerical Investigation of the Physics of Microstructured Optical Fibres," co-developed the multipole method for photonic crystal fibers. Kuhlmey authored the free simulation software MOF Utilities and co-authored the book "Foundations of Photonic Crystal Fibres," now in its second edition. His career at the University of Sydney includes leadership as Associate Head (Education) for the School of Physics from 2020 to 2022 and currently Deputy Associate Head (Education) from 2024.

Kuhlmey specializes in metamaterials, hyperlenses, photonic crystal fibres, lightsails, radiative cooling, and terahertz photonics. Research projects focus on laser-powered light sails for interstellar probes, metamaterials for radiative cooling, quantum-THz technology, and nanostructured textiles. He won a Physics Grand Challenge grant of $250,000 for "Nanostructured Textiles for A Sustainable Warming World." Key publications include "Multipole method for microstructured optical fibers. I. Formulation" (2002), "Multipole method for microstructured optical fibers. II. Implementation and results" (2002), "Foundations of photonic crystal fibres" (2005), "Selective coating of holes in microstructured optical fiber and its application to in-fiber absorptive polarizers" (2007), and "Ultrasensitive photonic crystal fiber refractive index sensor" (2009). With 7,273 citations on Google Scholar, his contributions have advanced nanophotonics, subwavelength imaging, and optical propulsion. Awards include the NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science. He serves on the Council of the Australian and New Zealand Optical Societies and the Australian Institute of Physics accreditation panel.