Nabeel Riza was born in 1962 in Karachi, Pakistan. His father’s family moved to Pakistan from India in the 1940s while his mother’s family originated from Iran. Growing up in Pakistan, Nabeel was surrounded by accomplished family members in the fields of literature, journalism, government, law, languages, and agriculture. His father in particular served as a role model. The senior Riza first served the Government of Pakistan for over 35 years rising to Secretary of State level on his way to making many fundamental contributions to the institutional infrastructure of the new country; later as a lawyer of the Supreme Court and then as a farmer. In 1996, the French President bestowed the French Chevalier Medal-Order of Merit to Riza, Sr. for his services to French culture in Pakistan. Hence, education was taken very seriously in the Riza family where Nabeel received full attention from his late father.

After primary schooling in Karachi, Nabeel completed his Cambridge University (U.K.) 1978 “O” level and 1980 “A” level overseas school certificates from St. Anthony’s and Aitchison College, respectively, in Lahore, Pakistan. In August 1981, Nabeel joined the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, graduating in August 1984 with a B. S. degree in electrical engineering. He graduated amongst the top 3 seniors of the entire institute, receiving the Illinois Institute’s Highest Academic Honor, the IIT Alumni Association Academic Achievement Award. Nabeel joined the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena on a full graduate scholarship in October 1984. He received his M.S. degree in electrical engineering in June 1985, and doctorate in the same field in Oct., 1989. At Caltech, Nabeel pursued his doctorate studies in Professor Demetri Psaltis’s Optics Group.

In 1965, optics had been used by Lambert for phased array antenna control, but this classic multichannel acousto-optic spectrum analyzer could only be used for receive array signal processing. Nabeel’s graduate work in optics for antenna arrays was inspired by his frequent visits to the Pasadena-based NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he saw the rather large size and weight of the control electronics that were being built for the Space Shuttle Phased Array Imaging Radar (also called SIR-C). Realizing that any practical antenna control system requires both transmit and receive capabilities, Nabeel showed how acousto-optics could be used for both transmit-receive phased array antenna control. In 1988, Nabeel’s graduate work on antenna controls won him an International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE) Student Scholarship Award. A decade later in 1998, the Optical Society of America (OSA) honored him with a Fellow Award for his pioneering work in photonic controls for radars and antenna arrays.

After completing his Ph.D. work in 1989, Nabeel joined the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Group at the General Electric Corporate Research and Development (GE-CRD) Center in Schenectady, New York. Upon joining GE-CRD, Nabeel showed how LCD technology could be used for optically controlling antenna arrays. For his High Risk/High Impact research ideas for GE-Aerospace, he received a 1990 GE-CRD New Start Research Award, a rarity for GE first year entry level staff. The next 5 years (1990-1994), Nabeel led the GE Optically Controlled Radar Project. This period saw him earn 20 patents and 80 publications, pushing and solving the technical issues related to using optics and LCDs for antenna control. For his prolific patents and publications, Nabeel was awarded the GE Gold Patent Medal and GE 75 Publications Award. At GE, he continued his research in acousto-optics and also initiated some of the earliest’s works in optical MEMS for switching. In 1998, SPIE: The International Society for Optical Engineering presented him with a Fellow Award for his research contributions in acousto-optic signal processing and liquid crystal devices.

In 1995, Nabeel joined the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) as an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where now he is Full Professor. Nabeel established CREOL’s first Photonic Information Processing Systems Laboratory that focuses on research in Applied Optics with the themes of (a) Information Optics, (b) Defense Optics, and (c) Health Optics. Nabeel and his group’s contributions include works in biomedical optics, nano-scale test & measurement optical instruments, fiber-optic communications and switching, acousto-optic signal processing, optical MEMS, liquid crystal devices, microwave photonics and radar, and freespace laser communications. These works are described in over 180 publications and 30 patents. Currently, Nabeel’s group is focused on developing a new class of scanners called “Multiplexed Optical Scanners” and their various applications. In 2000, Nabeel launched a startup Company, Nuonics, Inc., to commercialize his inventions. He has edited and co-edited two books dealing with microwave photonics. Most recently, for his pioneering works in photonic signal processing and fiber-optics, Nabeel received the prestigious 2001 International Commission for Optics (ICO) Prize and Ernst Abbe Medal. Nabeel’s students have also received several awards including two OSA-New Focus Awards, an IEEE LEOS Student Award, and SPIE’s highest student honor, the D. G. Lowell Award.

Nabeel’s relationship with LEOS began in 1996, becoming the Chair for the Orlando Chapter. From 1996-2000, the Orlando Chapter activities thrived, winning four consecutive Chapter awards. This period also saw Nabeel establish the first ever LEOS student chapter, encouraging LEOS membership growth via student ranks. Other new activities launched during this period included launch of LEOS sponsored student engineering projects such as the UCF Laser Scanner and Display project. For the 2002 LEOS Annual Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, Nabeel organized a special Symposium called “Agile Optical Beams and Applications.” In Dec. 2002, Nabeel was appointed as a LEOS Vice President for Memberships-Americas. Nabeel’s goals in this new capacity include the revitalization of inactive LEOS chapters, the launch of new chapters, and the initiation of new student assisted LEOS programs such student group trips to local businesses.

Nabeel and his wife Amana, a biologist, have two sons, Mehdi (seven) and Shems (five). Mehdi in Arabic means “Awaited One” while Shems means “ The Sun”. Nabeel credits his special teachers and mentors at critical junctures of his life who enabled him to reach new professional heights. He enjoys sports such as equestrian, tennis, cricket, rifle shooting, and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. He also loves traveling to new places, meeting and engaging different peoples, listening to music, watching funny movies, and reading about the trials and tribulations of the great personalities in science, engineering, and military.