Founder of the ORC returns to Southampton

Together, Professors Alec Gambling FRS, David Payne CBE FRS and Jin Tong Lin have changed the world we live in through their research at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), a part of the University of Southampton. These distinguished scientists will be re-united as Profs Gambling and Lin return to Southampton to become Honorary Doctors of Science, hosted by the Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre, Professor Payne.

Alec Gambling pioneered the use of optical fibres in telecommunications when he was at Southampton University in the 1960’s, forming what was to become the ORC, and supervised David Payne during his PhD. David Payne received one of the first ever PhDs in optical fibres. He then led the team that invented the erbium-doped fibre amplifier that enables the Internet and modern telecommunications, and mentored Jin Tong Lin in his PhD. Jin Tong Lin then collaborated with David Payne on the first fibre lasers; work that has led to an explosion of applications for optical fibres in telecommunications, medicine, manufacturing and other areas. Jin Tong Lin is currently the President of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, one of China’s key institutions and hub for their rapidly-growing communications industry.

All three were present to welcome the latest generation of research scientists graduating with PhDs from the ORC this summer. Under the direction of Professor Payne, the Southampton ORC continues to produce world-changing advances in photonics, and train the future leaders in the field.