Southampton's ORC Deputy Director named 2015 IEEE Fellow

Professor David Richardson, Deputy Director of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), has been named as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

He has been recognised for his work in optical fibre technology, particularly in the field of high power lasers, optical communications and the development of microstructured fibres.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognised by the technical community as a prestigious honour and an important career achievement.

David has made significant contributions to optical fibre technology particularly in the development of short pulse fibre lasers operating with pulse durations spanning the femtosecond through to nanosecond regimes, and in the area of ultrahigh capacity optical communication systems.

He has worked at Southampton for 25 years and for the last 15 years has been Deputy Director of the ORC. He has taught, trained and mentored a large number of PhD students and research staff who have gone on to develop successful research careers at universities and companies around the world.

He said: “I am very pleased to receive this recognition from the global photonics community for the quality and impact of my groups and their research contributions over the years. I have a very high regard for the IEEE and its contributions to engineering, so to be named as an IEEE Fellow is a significant personal achievement for me.”

David was also awarded the prestigious Wolfson Research Merit Award by the Royal Society in 2013 in recognition of a research breakthrough that it is hoped will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental data carrying capacity of optical fibres in order to create faster, cheaper and more power efficient internet services.

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 per cent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed more than 900 active industry standards. The association also sponsors or co-sponsors nearly 400 international technical conferences each year.