Richard Penty

In 2012, Penty was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). In the same year he became a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

In 2001, he moved from Bristol to the University of Cambridge as Professor of Photonics in its Department of Engineering. He was elected a fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 2002. He served as Deputy Vice-Master of the college in 2008 and Vice-Master from 2011 to 2012. He was Acting Master from 2012 to 2013, before his election as the 27th Master of Sidney Sussex College in 2013.

In 1992, Penty married Victoria Frances Mary Eve. They have three children together: two sons and one daughter.

After finishing his studies at the University of Cambridge, Penty became a lecturer in the School of Physics at the University of Bath. He held the post from 1990 to 1995. In 1996, he joined the University of Bristol as a lecturer in electrical and electronic engineering. He was promoted to Reader and then Professor of Photonics.

Richard Vincent Penty, FREng (born 9 September 1964) is a British engineer and academic. He is the current Master of Sidney Sussex College and Professor of Photonics at the University of Cambridge.

Penty was born on 9 September 1964 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. He is the oldest of three sons of two Uttoxeter medical practitioners, Peter and Patricia Janet (née Shelbourne) Penty. He was educated at Repton School, an independent school in Repton, Derbyshire. He studied engineering and electrical science at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986. He remained at Cambridge to undertake postgraduate study in engineering, specialising in nonlinear optical fibre devices. In 1989, he entered his doctoral thesis titled "Novel optical fibre Kerr devices for signal processing". He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1990.