We present our results regarding the modeling and simulation of nano-photonic elements using Discontinuous Galerkin Finite-Element techniques. Just like ordinary finite-element approaches, these methods provide an adaptive spatial resolution. However, in contrast to ordinary finite elements, these methods lead to highly efficient explicit time-stepping schemes. Together with advanced material models, Discontinuous Galerkin methods represent an ideal tool for the quantitative analysis of nano-photonic systems. We demonstrate this by investigating certain prototypical nano-photonic elements such as micro-resonators. © 2011 IEEE.