• A Hybrid Conference – In-Person and Virtual Presentations
  • Technical Conference:  24 – 28 March 2024
  • Exhibition: 26 – 28 March 2024
  • San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA
PRESS RELEASE

06 December 2016

Luminaries and Leaders in Optical Communications to Deliver Keynote Presentations at OFC 2017

Presentations to provide a comprehensive overview of networking needs for cloud-based networks, photonic integration and the future ‘Internet of Skills’
 
LOS ANGELES — The world’s leading conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals, today announced the keynote speakers for OFC 2017.  On Tuesday, 21 March, Mischa Dohler, King’s College, UK; Urs Hölzle, Google, Inc., USA; and Meint K. Smit, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, will take the stage to discuss future innovations in optics-based communication technologies. 

“The OFC 2017 plenary program focuses on the future of optical communications and explores the exciting and evolving relationship of optical technologies under the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and the Internet of Things (IoT),” said OFC General Chair, Peter Winzer, Nokia Bell Labs, USA. "We are seeing a transcendence of knowledge and innovation in optical networking today, and these presentations will provide guidance for 5G network infrastructure and beyond.”
 
Mischa Dohler, Professor, King’s College, UK
Internet of Skills – Where Communications, Robotics and AI Meet
 
Mischa Dohler is the chair professor of Wireless Communications at King’s College in London, England. At King’s College, Dohler’s research interests range from 5G networks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities. Dohler serves as the director of the Center for Telecommunications Research (CTR), a research hub that attracts talent from around the globe to study applicable methods to relay concepts of wireless and mobile broadband systems and explore the greater economic implications of telecommunication technologies. Dohler is a Fellow of IEEE and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and a Distinguished Member of Harvard Square Leaders Excellence. An entrepreneur, composer and pianist, Dohler has four albums available on iTunes and will perform following his presentation at OFC.

Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President for Technical Infrastructure, Google, Inc., USA
A Ubiquitous Cloud Requires a Transparent Network
 
As the Senior Vice President for Technical Infrastructure at Google, Urs Hölzle leads the design, installation and operation of servers, networks and datacenters that provide power to Google services.  Hölzle, with the support of his team have reduced the energy consumed by Google data centers to less than 50 percent, lower than the industry standard. Prior to his role as Google’s Senior Vice President for Technical Infrastructure, Hölzle served as Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Engineering, in which he developed Google’s operational infrastructure.  He has served as a leading contributor to DARPA’s National Compiler Infrastructure project and was recognized for his work on high-performance implementations of object-oriented languages by the National Science Foundation, receiving the CAREER award in 1996. A recipient of a 1988 Fulbright Scholarship, Hölzle received his Master’s degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland, in 1988 and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1994. At Stanford, Hölzle invented techniques that are at the foundation of today’s leading Java compilers. Hölzle is a member of both the US National Academy of Engineering and the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences. Hölzle will explore Google’s path to developing a cloud presence that is ubiquitous and rapidly evolving, thanks to a robust network.
 
Meint K. Smit, Professor, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Photonic Integrated Circuits for All: How Foundries are Transforming the Prototype of Exciting New Devices
 
Meint K. Smit, is professor of electrical engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, Smit is a graduate of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, receiving his Ph.D. in Integrated Optics in 1991. Smit’s research interests revolve around InP-based Photonic Integration and the integration of InP circuitry on Silicon. As the founder of the JePPIX platform, the joint Europe Platform for Photonic Integration of Components and Circuits, he has led development of the InP-based photonic foundry system in Europe. At Eindhoven University, he is the leader of the Opto-Electronic Devices group at the COBRA Research Institute at the Eindhoven campus. Smit will explore the successful models of photonics foundries, its growing presence around the world and will explore prototype costs and foundry-modeled photonic ICs across a broad range of applications.

Registration Information
Conference registration is open! Register before 20 February 2017 and save on a full technical conference pass.

Credentialed media and analysts who wish to cover OFC 2017 can submit a form to register for a full-access conference media badge. Registration, travel information and exhibitor news can be found in the OFC media room.

Post Deadline Papers
Postdeadline papers will be accepted from 14 December 2016 through 7 March 2017. Submission details are available on the OFC Conference website: Paper submission.

About OFC
The Optical Fiber Conference and Exposition (OFC) is the largest global conference and exposition for optical communications and networking professionals. For more than 40 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move business forward.
 
OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exposition of more than 550 companies, and high impact peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is managed by The Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc), and the IEEE Photonics Society.  OFC 2017 will be held from 19-23 March 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, California, USA. Follow @OFCConference, learn more OFC Conference LinkedIn, and watch highlights OFC YouTube.

Media Contacts:
media@ofcconference.org