Charles K. Kao
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Charles Kuen Kao (高錕; pinyin: Gāo Kūn; born 4 November 1933) is a pioneer in the use of fiber optics in telecommunications.
He was born in Shanghai in 1933, graduated in electrical engineering from the Imperial College London in 1957, and then worked as an engineer for Standard Telephones and Cables (STC) and their research centre Standard Telecommunications Laboratories in Harlow, England (now Nortel Networks).
He was awarded a PhD degree in electrical engineering by the Imperial College London in 1965, and the following year with George Hockham did his pioneering work in the realisation of fiber optics as a telecommunications medium, by demonstrating that the high-loss of existing fiber optics arose from impurities in the glass, rather than from an underlying problem with the technology itself.
Since leaving STL, he has worked as director of research at ITT, Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and CEO of Transtech. He is currently Chairman and CEO of ITX Services. He is also a notable alumnus of St. Joseph's College in Hong Kong.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andrew Viterbi |
IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal 1985 |
Succeeded by Bernard Widrow |
| Preceded by Nick Holonyak |
Japan Prize 1996 |
Succeeded by T. Sugimura |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Ma Lin |
Vice Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong 1987-1996 |
Succeeded by Arthur Li |
[edit] References
- Hecht, Jeff, City of Light, The Story of Fiber Optics, Oxford University Press, New York, 1999 (ISBN 0-19-510818-3)
[edit] External links
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