Professor Paul Townsend has more than 25 years’ experience as a scientist and research leader, working in leading industrial laboratories in the US and UK, including Bell Communications Research, BT and Corning, and, since 2003, at Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, where he is currently Head of Photonics Research and Director of IPIC, the Research Ireland Centre for Photonics. Paul is an internationally recognised expert in advanced photonic communication systems and is particularly known for his pioneering work on quantum key distribution in optical networks, and for developing novel concepts in high-capacity broadband optical access networks.