An example of the caliber of scientists in attendance at the conference where the prototype was demonstrated in September 2012
David Auston is Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency and Executive Director of the Center for Energy Efficient Materials, at UC Santa Barbara. Prior to joining UC Santa Barbara, he was President of the Kavli Foundation. He has been a member of the technical staff and department head at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories (now Lucent Technologies), Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics and Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, Provost of Rice University, and President of Case Western Reserve University.
Auston has contributed to research in the fields of lasers, nonlinear optics, and solid-state materials. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and the American Physical Society.
Rod C. Alferness is the Richard A. Auhll Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara. Alferness comes to UCSB as the former Chief Scientist at Bell Labs, following an accomplished career in optoelectronics and electrical engineering.
Alferness is world-renowned for his work on integrated-optic devices and optical switching technology and architecture. His research has been central to the development of global fiber optic communications networks. As Chief Scientist at Bell Labs, he was responsible for strategic directions, technical excellence, and global partnerships - including universities. In a prior role as Senior Vice President of Research, he had overall responsibility for the company's global research laboratories. In his role as Chief Technical Officer for Bell Labs' parent company, Lucent Technologies, Alferness was responsible for transferring the optical technology he worked on to the business units.
Alferness received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the Optical Society of America (OSA). In 2001, Alferness was the recipient of the IEEE Millennium Award. Alferness received the 2005 IEEE Photonics Award and the 2010 OSA Leadership Award. He has served as President of the OSA and of the IEEE Photonics Society. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles and holds more than 30 patents for his work in optoelectronics and optical networks.
