Stanley Desmond Smith

Abstract Desmond (Des) Smith was a key figure in the UK’s early development of lasers and optoelectronics, leading the Department of Physics of the newly recognized Heriot-Watt University from 1970 until his retirement in 1996. Having initially made a name for himself through the development of the selective chopper radiometer—flown on the Nimbus IV atmospheric observation satellite—Des went on to establish a thriving centre of photonics research that extended not only within his own Heriot-Watt department, but more widely across the Scottish universities. This leadership also spread to include major European projects and wider collaborations. Research highlights included the development of the spin-flip Raman laser and the demonstration of optical bistability in a semiconductor. The latter led to numerous projects exploring the application of optical bistability to signal processing and optical computing. Alongside this work, Des established a series of companies that successfully commercialized numerous aspects of his research, producing laboratory instruments, manufacturing technologies and medical diagnostic and treatment systems.