IEEE Photonics Society (IPS) 2011 Aron Kressel Award Recipient: Ian White

Ian White

The Aron Kressel Award is given to recognize those individuals who have made important contributions to opto-electronic device technology. The device technology cited is to have had a significant impact on their applications in major practical systems. The intent is to recognize key contributors to the field for developments of critical components, which lead to the development of systems enabling major new services or capabilities. These achievements should have been accomplished in a prior time frame sufficient to permit evaluation of their lasting impact. The work cited could have appeared in the form of publications, patents, products, or simply general recognition by the professional community that the individual cited is the agreed upon originator of the advance up which the award decision is based. The award may be given to an individual or group, up to three in number. The deadline for nominations is 30 April.
     The IEEE Photonics Society (IPS) Aron Kressel Award will be presented to Ian White, “for contributions in the field of III-V photonic devices for data-communication transmission and routing applications.” The presentation will be made during the Awards Banquet at the 2011 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC) formerly known as the IEEE Photonics Society Annual at the Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington.
     Ian White is currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Affairs, van Eck Professor of Engineering, and Head of the Centre for Photonic Systems in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He gained his BA and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge, England in 1980 and 1984. He was then appointed a Research Fellow and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Cambridge before becoming Professor of Physics at the University of Bath in 1990. In 1996 he moved to the University of Bristol and became Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1998, before returning to the University of Cambridge in October 2001.
     Ian White has contributed to a variety of research activities in photonics, ranging from short pulse laser diodes, optoelectronic components for signal processing and routing, high speed components for data communications, to techniques for transmitting digital and radio frequency signals over long distances of multimode optical fibre. Several advances within these activities have already made commercial impact, the offset launch technique for enhancing the transmission capabilities and hence bandwidth of optical fibre links having been adopted within the Gigabit Ethernet standard. He has published in excess of 900 journal and conference papers.
     Ian White is a Fellow of the IEEE, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Photonics Society, and an Editor-in-Chief of Electronics Letters. He is heavily involved in policy development and administration of research, and sits on a number of International Conference Committees. He is a co-founder of Zinwave Ltd.