TAKAHIRO NUMAI, PHD, is Professor at Ritsumeikan University. Previously, at Opto-Electronics Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, he researched and developed laser diodes for lightwave transmission systems and wavelength tunable optical filters for photonic switching systems. Dr. Numai holds twenty-eight U.S. patents, and he has authored and coauthored more than 150 technical papers and international conference communications on optoelectronics. He has also written many textbooks. Dr. Numai is a member of the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers of Japan; the Japan Society of Applied Physics; and the Physical Society of Japan. He is also a senior member of the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).