Andrew Forbes received his PhD from the University of Natal, South Africa. He is currently a Distinguished Professor in the School of Physics at the University of Witwatersrand, where he established a new laboratory for Structured Light in 2015.

Forbes’ leadership has transformed the advancement of photonics in the Africa. He is a founding member of the Photonics Initiative of South Africa (PISA), which aims to accelerate and grow photonics research and impact in South Africa, and an initiator of South Africa’s Quantum Technology Initiative. He is an active participant in the African Laser Centre, organizing and hosting numerous training events in South Africa. He also strives to increase the visibility of South African research initiatives internationally, coordinating events and programs with global organizations such as Optica.

He serves on many advisory panels, conference committees, and journals, and is presently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Optics.  His contributions to the field have been recognized through several national awards, as well as the Georg Forster Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the South African Institute of Physics Gold Medal, the highest award for physics in South Africa. He is a Fellow of Optica, the South African Institute of Physics, and SPIE, and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. In 2022, he received the Sang Soo Lee Award "for advancing photonics in South Africa through strategic leadership in executing national photonics programmes, high-impact research and education, and mentorship of African researchers."