OFC/NFOEC Press Releases

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The Optical Society
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Charles K. Kao, Esteemed Member of the Optical Communications Community, Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics

-- Prestigious Award Bestowed for Contributions to Fiber Optics --

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6—The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC) is honored to announce that Charles K. Kao, an esteemed member of the optical communications community, has been awarded one-half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award is bestowed annually upon the people who have made “the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics.” Kao joins the more than 20 optics and photonics scientists who have achieved this admirable distinction.

Kao, formerly of Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in Harlow, UK and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, received the recognition “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication.”

In 1966, Charles K. Kao carefully calculated how to transmit light over long distances via optical glass fibers. With a fiber of purest glass it would be possible to transmit light signals over a distance of 100 kilometers, compared to only 20 meters for the fibers available in the 1960s. This discovery laid the foundation for today’s fiber optic networks.
The Nobel Prize in Physics will be presented by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during a ceremony on Dec. 10 at the Stockholm Concert Hall.

The other half of this year’s award was bestowed on Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, both formerly of Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor.”

“Optics technologies are exceptionally significant for scientific developments in today’s world. From fiber optics to digital photography, imaging and beyond, the advancements made by today’s newest Nobel Laureates have had a profound impact on our daily lives,” said Elizabeth Rogan, CEO, OSA, a cosponsor of OFC/NFOEC. “We congratulate Drs. Kao, Boyle, and Smith on this much-deserved recognition.”

For more information on this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, visit http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/.

About OFC/NFOEC
Since 1979, the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) has provided an annual backdrop for the optical communications field to network and share research and innovations. In 2004, OFC joined forces with the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC), creating the largest and most comprehensive international event for optical communications. By combining an exposition of approximately 500 companies with a unique program of peer-reviewed technical programming and special focused educational sessions, OFC/NFOEC provides an unparalleled opportunity, reaching every audience from service providers to optical equipment manufacturers and beyond.

OFC/NFOEC, www.ofcnfoec.org, is managed by the Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Photonics Society. Acting as non-financial technical co-sponsor is Telcordia Technologies, Inc.

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