Stefan Sinzinger studied physics at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg from where he also received his doctorate degree in 1993. In 1991 he spent 9 months at the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, NJ, USA. From 1994 to 2002 he worked as research scientist for Jurgen Jahns at the University of Hagen on planar optical systems integration. In April 2002 he became Professor for "Technische Optik" (Optical Engineering) at the Technical University of Ilmenau. His current research interest is the use of microstructures for the optimisation of optical components and systems.