Professor Shyqyri Haxha received his MSc and Ph.D. from City University, London, in 2000 and 2004, respectively, with his doctoral research distinguished by the highly esteemed Scientific Instrument Makers (SIM) award. Additionally, he holds an Executive MBA from the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, as well as a specialized Telecom MBA from the Telecoms Academy, Informa Telecoms and Media Telecommunications LTD, London.

Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), where he serves as Director of Research, the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), and the Postgraduate Researchers (PGR) and Postgraduate Taught (PGT) programs. He established and leads the Microwave Photonics and Sensors (MPS) laboratory.

Prior to joining Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), Professor Haxha served as a Lecturer in Fibre Optic and Broadband Communication at the University of Kent. He also held the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a telecommunications company with an annual turnover exceeding €195 million and a workforce of 3,300 employees. The company collaborated with major partners, including Cable & Wireless Communications Ltd and Monaco Telecom International (MTI). During his tenure as CEO, he successfully oversaw the delivery and management of projects with a cumulative value exceeding €200 million

Professor Haxha has an extensive academic and professional portfolio, with over 250 peer-reviewed publications and more than 15 patents. He has successfully obtained significant research funding from esteemed organizations such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the National Aerospace Technology Programme (NATEP), the Royal Society, and various industry partners. His research expertise lies in microwave photonics, with impactful applications spanning the defence, telecommunications, aerospace, and medical sectors.

Key areas of expertise include:

• Photonic Devices: Design of electro-optic modulators (GaAs, LiNbO3, polymer-based), plasmonic devices, surface plasmon polaritons (SPP), photonic crystals, metamaterials, and photonic crystal fibres.
• Microwave Photonics: Development of photonic signal processing techniques, including up/down-conversion of microwave signals, spurious and intermodulation distortion mitigation, microwave photonic filtering, and RF over fibre technologies.
• Advanced Applications: Research in 5G/6G wireless communication, free-space optical communication, aerospace, radar, satellite communication, wearable biosensors, and cybersecurity devices using speckle patterns.

His work emphasizes the use of photonics for high-performance signal manipulation, including low-distortion up/down conversion, robust high-quality (Q) microwave filters, and spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) enhancements, all facilitated by fibre optics and photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

Professor Haxha is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET), a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Senior Member of the IEEE (MIEEE), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Sensors Journal, a Review Editor for Frontiers in Photonics, and an Editorial Board Member and Guest Editor for MDPI journals, including Biosensors.

Professor Haxha’s research innovations span aviation, space, telecommunications, defence, and healthcare. He has pioneered photonic solutions for microwave systems, including high-resolution RF signal analysis, photonic microwave mixers, and fibre-enabled remote functionalities, while exploring novel applications in biological spectroscopy and wearable biosensors. His combined academic and industry expertise positions him as a leader in advancing microwave and photonic technologies.

To apply for a Phd within the Microwave Photonics and Sensors Group, please email the Head of Group, Prof. Shyqyri Haxha at [email protected] with details about your research interests as well as a summary of your academic qualifications (a brief one to two page CV will be useful) and if you are self-funded or require funding.

For more information on postdoctoral, fellowship and visiting opportunities, please email the Head of Group, Prof. Shyqyri Haxha at [email protected]  with your CV and a brief statement of your research interest and career aspirations.

•  Google Scholar profile

Some Project Awards as Principal Investigator:

Prof. Haxha has been awarded numerous research project awards such as:

- Photonic Signal Processing to Remove all 5G/6G Band Signals from the Water Signal. Funded by Industry (February 2022-2026)

- Experimental development and demonstration of a multi-RF mixer with high intermodulation suppressions. Funded by Industry (Aprill 2020-December 2020)

- Microwave Photonic Mixer over Optics Communication Channel for 5G and beyond. Funded by Industry (£60K) (January 2019-May 2019)

- National Aerospace Technology Programme (NATEP) funding £280K: Developing New Photonic Architectures using GaAs Modulators.

- The Royal Society International funding £12K in collaboration between the UK and ETRI South Korea on designing of Novel Polymer Electro-optic Modulator. Including several EPSRC studentships.

- Rolls-Royce; Project funding £80K on Biosensor-biofilm development detection based on dual-channel planar waveguide Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) for aqueous environment applications.

- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships - Innovate UK. Project funding £159K: Design of Advanced Emerging Technology Sensor System.

- Nuffield Award funding £5K: Novel Design of Polarization Controller based on GaAs. 

- Received funding of around £200K from the industry on designing Non-Invasive  Glucose Wearable Sensors for Continuous     Monitoring of Glucose Levels in Blood, and novel Microwave Photonic Architecture with improved SFDR.

He is the director of the new MSc in Microwave and Optical Fibre Communications

How to join the MSc in Microwave and Optical Fibre Communications:

To apply for the MSc in Microwave and Optical Fibre Communications, please click on the following link: 

MSc in Microwave and Optical Fibre Communications

or email Prof. Shyqyri Haxha at [email protected]  with details about your postgraduate study interests.

 He is the author of several patents in the area of photonics, RF over fiber, and sensor devices for health and environmental applications.

Granted Patents:

Title: CAPTURE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA USING AN OPTICAL APPARATUS 

Inventor: Shyqyri Haxha 

Patent number: US 12,186,057 B2

Published: January 2025.

Title: A DOPPLER COMPENSATION METHOD USING PHOTONIC MODULATION

Inventor: Shyqyri Haxha 

Patent number: PCT Patent Application No. PCT/GB2023/050247 claiming priority from GB2201595.2

Published: August 2023.

Title: A Doppler Compensation Method using Photonic Modulation

Inventor: Shyqyri Haxha

Patent Number: GB2201595.2 

Filing date:  February 2022

Title: Apparatus and Method of Capturing Physiological Data

Inventor: Shyqyri Haxha

Patent number: PCT/GB2022/051873

Published: August 2023

Title: Positional Detection System 

Inventors: Patrick Sullivan; Mohamed Abolkheir, Bristol; Shyqyri Haxha, Paul Hogg,

Patent number: PCT/GB2020/051767

Published: Jan. 20, 2022.

Title: Positional Detection System

Inventors: Patrick Sullivan; Mohamed Abolkheir, Bristol; Shyqyri Haxha, Paul Hogg,

Patent number: US 11,628,349 B2

Published: Aug. 4, 2022.

Title: Positional Detection System

Inventors: Patrick Sullivan; Mohamed Abolkheir, Bristol; Shyqyri Haxha, Paul Hogg,

Patent number: 3,147,719 (Canada)

Published: 15th August 2023

Title: Electro-optical Modulator and Method of Modulating an Optical Beam to Carry an RF Signal

Inventors: Ian Flint, Taimur Mirza and Shyqyri Haxha

Granted Patent Number: US11429007B2

Date: 30 August 2022. 

Patent funded by Leonardo UK LTD.

Title: Apparatus and method for reducing distortion of an optical signal

Inventors: Mohammed Alom, Ian Flint, and Shyqyri Haxha

Granted Patent Number: GB2567646

Filing date:  October 2017.

Joint patent application fully funded by Industry.

Title: An Electro-Optical Modulator

Inventors: Ian Flint, Shyqyri Haxha and Taimur Mirza

Filing date: 24 December 2019

Granted Patent Number: GB2582199

Publication Date: 16 September 2020

Link To File: https://www.ipo.gov.uk/p-ipsum/Case/PublicationNumber/GB2582199

Title: Apparatus and method for reducing distortion of an optical signal

Inventors: Mohammed Alom, Ian Flint and Shyqyri Haxha

Granted Patent Number: US 20200252134 A1

Joint patent application fully funded by Industry.

Title: A Radio Frequency Mixer Implemented with a Photonic Circuit.

 Author(s): Ian Flint, Shyqyri Haxha and Taimur Mirza

Patent Application Number: GB 2000605.2

Filing date: 15 January 2020 (Priority Filing date: 15 January 2019)

Publication Number: GB2580792

Publication Date: 29 July 2020

Joint patent application fully funded by Industry.

Title: A method of driving an MZM, mixer and SSBs post manufacture to trim out intensity errors

 Author(s): Taimur Mirza, Shyqyri Haxha and Ian Flint

 Patent Application Number: GB1821175.5

 Filing date: 24 December 2018

 Joint patent application fully funded by Industry.

Title: A Radio Frequency Mixer Implemented with a Photonic Circuititle: 

Inventors: Ian Flint, Shyqyri Haxha and Taimur Mirza

Patent Application Number: PCT/EP2020/050916

PCT Filing Date: 15 January 20020 (Priority Filing date: 15 January 2019)

Publication Number: WO 2020/148337

Publication Date: 23 July 2020

Title: Metamaterial Microlens Array (MMA) for 3D Imaging Systems

Authors(s): Shyqyri Haxha, Amar Aggoun and Fathi AbdelMalek

Published: May 2014

Patent Application No. 1407922.2

Title: Photonic Crystal Fibre

Author(s): Shyqyri Haxha

Published: 2008 February

Patent Application No. 0802983.7 

Title: Optical Biosensor

Author(s): Shyqyri Haxha, Gary Robinson

Published: 2008 January

Patent Application No. 0801606.5 

Title: Optical External Modulator 

Author(s): Shyqyri Haxha, Terry Gorman

Published: 2007 September

Patent Application No. 0717240.6