We are excited to have strong candidates in this year's election. You can read their statements below.

The Vice President candidates are as follows:

• Moritz Merklin, The University of Sydney

Dr Moritz Merklein is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney and a team leader within the Jericho Smart Sensing Lab. Dr Merklein received his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney in 2018. His research was recognised with several awards, including the Rita and John Cornforth Graduate Medal 2019, the Royal Society of NSW Jak Kelly Award 2017, the Australian Institute of Physics NSW Medal for Postgraduate Excellence 2017, and the 2020 Eureka Prize. He is an engaged member of the photonics community serving as the secretary of ANZOS and the vice-president of the Optica Sydney local section.

The Councillor candidates are as follows:

• Alex Fuerbach, Macquarie University

I am Professor and Associate Dean Research Training and Performance for the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Macquarie University in Sydney. I have been an active member of the Council for the last four years during which I have contributed to various strategies aimed at increasing ANZOS' membership base and strengthening our partnership with Optica and SPIE. In 2022, I became Treasurer for the society and, if elected, my intention is to continue in this role and to prepare for a transition to a new treasurer at the end of 2026.

• Alvaro Casas Bedoya, The University of Sydney

I am the Associate Director of the Integrated Photonics Sensing Group at the University of Sydney. My expertise focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterisation of integrated photonic devices for sensing, microwave signal processing, and photon-phonon interactions. I hold a PhD in Physics (2013) from the University of Sydney, funded by the USydIS scholarship, and a double MSc in Photonics (Distinction) through the Erasmus Mundus program (2008-2009). I provide leadership in semiconductor design and  nanofabrication supporting Australia's growing semiconductor industry. I am the advisor for the OPTICA and SPIE Student Chapter and the Sydney OPTICA Local Section, where I also had the pleasure of serving as their president.

• Bill Corcoran, Monash University

A/Prof. Bill Corcoran studies the use of photonics in optical communication systems, to help solve issues with energy efficiency and data-carrying capacity of optical fibre networks – the backbone of the internet. Bill obtained his PhD in Physics in 2011, before joining Chalmers University of Technology for a postdoctoral position. In 2013, he joined Monash University as a postdoc, became ongoing staff in 2025, and became A/Prof. in 2024. Bill is currently an ARC Future Fellow and a CI on the ARC Centre for Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS).

• Danka Sampson, University of Western Australia

Dr Sampson is a translational researcher with international training who holds joint appointments at the Lions Eye Institute and the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on developing non-invasive, optics-based imaging instruments and standardised ophthalmic image and data analysis workflows. In addition to her academic work, she is committed to science communication and promoting inclusivity, having designed and delivered over 30 STEM outreach programmes. Dr Sampson is actively involved in the global optics and photonics community, contributing to Optica and SPIE, and has co-edited the ANZOS Newsletter since 2024. She also supports various committees within these organisations.

• Haoran Ren, Monash University

Dr Haoran Ren, a DECRA Fellow, leads the Structured Nanophotonics Group at Monash University. He is an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence TMOS. Dr Ren has received several prestigious awards, including the 2024 SPIE Best Paper Award, the 2023 Rising Stars of Light, the 2022 ANZOS Geoff Opat Early Career Researcher Prize, and the 2017 Victoria Fellowship. He actively serves the photonics community as the Chair of the OPTICA Photonic Metamaterials Technical Group and has held roles as Secretary of the OPTICA Sydney Local Section and Event Officer of the OSA Technical Group. He is also an editor for ANZOS News.

• Igor Aharonovich, University of of Technology Sydney

Igor Aharonovich is a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UTS, and a chief investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Materials (TMOS). In 2016, Igor and his team discovered the first quantum emitters in 2D materials that operate at room temperature based on defects in hBN.

 

He has co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, including one of the most cited reviews on diamond photonics.

 

Igor has received several international awards including the Pawsey Medal (2017), the IEEE Photonics Young Investigator Award (2016). In 2021, he became a Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA), and in 2024 elected as a fellow of SPIE.

• Irina Kabakova, University of Technology Sydney

Irina Kabakova is an Associate Professor at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the University of Technology Sydney. She has established the first Brillouin Imaging Lab in Australia and pioneered micromechanical spectroscopic imaging for solid state and soft matter materials. Currently she is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology and Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science. She has served on ANZOS Council between 2019-2022 and chaired ANZCOP 2022 Conference. She has been a long-standing member of ANZOS since 2008.

• Joel Carpenter, University of Queensland

Joel Carpenter is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK in 2012 for his work on Mode Division Multiplexing in optical telecommunications before working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney, Australia. In 2015, Joel returned to his hometown of Brisbane to take up  faculty position at the University of Queensland, where he founded the ‘modegroup’ at UQ which focuses on research related to the measurement and manipulation of light’s spatiotemporal properties.

• Sergio Leon-Saval, University of Sydney

Prof Sergio Leon-Saval is the Director of the Sydney Astrophotonics Instrumentation Laboratory (SAIL), and Director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS) at the School of Physics in the University of Sydney. He was the 2019 recipient of the AOS John Love Award, and elected to Optica Fellow for the new class of 2023. Prof Leon-Saval is keen to explore a third and last term as councillor and be able to contribute to the society with a now much better understanding of the needs and procedures and looking forward to exploring the possibilities as a Councillor of the society in his third term, with particular emphasis on solidifying the efforts on the revival of the ANZOS Newsletter.