RSVP Required
17 Mar 2026
12:30 - 14:00
Platinum E, JW Marriott
Join conference co-sponsors IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Communications Society, and Optica for a special luncheon to recognize the award and honor recipients from each society. The event is open to anyone who purchases a ticket, but seating is limited. Tickets are USD 45.00 and can be purchased through the registration site. Ticket sales end on 16 March.
Supported by:
Featured Presentations
John Tyndall Award
Presented annually since 1987, the award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to optical-fiber technology that have met the test of time and are of proven benefit to science, technology, or society. The award honors the memory of John Tyndall, who made distinguished contributions to physics, particularly his demonstration of total internal reflection in a continuous stream of water. It is jointly presented by the IEEE Photonics Society and Optica and is funded by Corning Incorporated.
Graham Trevor Reed
University of Southampton, UK
For ground-breaking contributions to silicon photonics, notably through pioneering research, advocacy, and the establishment of a widely accessible foundry platform.
IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award
Established in 1997, the award is presented for outstanding contributions to communications technology.
Biswanath Mukherjee
University of California (retired), USA
For pioneering contributions to optical networks and systems.
IEEE Photonics Society Young Investigator Award
Established in 2006 to honor Professor W. Alec Gambling, the award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding technical contributions to photonics prior to their 35th birthday.
Mikael Mazur
Nokia, USA
For seminal contributions to fiber sensing using submarine fiber-optic networks and real-time multiple-input-multiple-output digital signal processing.
2026 Society Fellows
Optica Fellows
Yusheng Bian
GlobalFoundries, USA
For transformative contributions to silicon photonics, including innovations that underpin high-volume manufacturing on a scalable CMOS-silicon photonics platform.
Guo-En Chang
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
For technical innovation and seminal work in Si photonics, particularly his pioneering contributions in SiGeSn materials and photonic devices.
Haoshuo Chen
Nokia Bell Labs, USA
For exceptional contributions in multimode and multicore communication technologies, and pioneering advances in cladding-pumped optical amplifiers.
Lian-Kuan Chen
Research Center for Applied Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
For outstanding advances to the research of optical wireless communications for indoor, underwater, and water-air channels.
Chih Wei Chu
Academia Sinica, Taiwan
For advancing scalable, eco-friendly materials and device innovations enabling high-performance flexible photonic and electronic technologies.
Guilhem de Valicourt
Ciena Corporation, USA
For substantial contributions to the development and commercialization of integrated-optics communication devices.
Lu Fang
Tsinghua University, China
For contributions to plenoptic imaging and integrated photonic neural computing.
Mable Fok
University of Georgia, USA
For seminal contributions to the adaptive and flexible use of fiber optics for soft material sensing and bioinspired microwave photonic systems.
Nicholas Harris
Lightmatter, USA
For transformative advances in programmable photonic integrated circuits and pioneering photonic AI acceleration technologies at the intersection of optics and machine learning
Robert Herrick
Robert Herrick Consulting, USA
For advances in reliability and failure analysis of semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics.
Rongqing Hui
University of Kansas, USA
For outstanding and sustained contributions to the research and development of optical communication systems, devices, and optical measurement techniques.
Andrew Lord
BT Research and Networks Strategy, UK
For sustained contributions, innovative research, and professional service to the field.
Ruben S. Luis
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan
For groundbreaking contributions to high-capacity fiber-optic transmission systems.
Raul Muñoz
Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), Spain
For pioneering contributions to the efficient orchestration of optical networking technologies.
Ampalavanapilla Nirmalathas
University of Melbourne, Australia
For pioneering contributions to the design and demonstration of high-speed indoor optical wireless networks and enabling photonic technologies.
Xiaodan Pang
Zhejiang University, China
For seminal contributions to optical communications in free-space and optical fiber, and dedicated service to the optics and photonics community.
Francesca Parmigiani
Microsoft Research Cambridge Inc, UK
For extraordinary contributions to the development of high speed, high optical power handling, MEMS spatial light modulators.
Alexander Payne
Silicon Light Machines, USA
For extraordinary contributions to the development of high speed, high optical power handling, MEMS spatial light modulators.
David Piehler
Dell Technologies Inc., USA
For profound technical contributions and leadership in optical access network technologies and their successful widespread commercialization.
Francesco Poletti
University of Southampton & Microsoft Azure Fiber & AI, UK
For fundamental contributions to the advancement of hollow core fiber technology from design to fabrication.
Xiaoke Yi
University of Sydney, Australia
For outstanding and sustained contributions in microwave photonic signal processing and sensing.
Qunbi Zhuge
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
For exceptional contributions to the research and development of high-capacity optical communication systems and intelligent optical networks.
IEEE Communications Society Fellows
Marla Dowell
EDGE Consortium/Dartmouth, USA
For contributions to laser metrology and standards for optics and photonics.
Yuanqiu Luo
Futurewei Technologies, USA
For contributions to the standardization of high-speed optical access protocols.
Shahriar Shahramian
Nokia - Bell Labs, USA
For the development of millimeter-wave phased-arrays and D-band communication links.
Mallik Tatipamula
Ericsson, USA
For leadership in advancing 5G networks and fostering adoption through public-private partnerships.
IEEE Photonics Society Fellows
Giancarlo Gavioli
Nokia, Italy
For seminal contributions to signal processing for high-speed optical transmission systems
Qijie Wang
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
For contributions to the photonic engineering of mid-infrared and terahertz semiconductor lasers and detectors
Award and Prize Honorees
IEEE/Optica Journal of Lightwave Technology (JLT) Best Paper Award
This award is presented by the Journal's Coordinating and Steering Committees to the top cited original paper published in JLT in 2022, as determined by a variety of citation metrics and databases. Copies of the winning paper are available at OFC and in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
Digital Subcarrier Multiplexing: Enabling Software Configurable Optical Networks
JLT Vol. 41, Issue 4 (2023) DOI: 10.1109/JLT.2022.3211466
Authors: Dave Welch, Antonio Napoli, Johan Bäck, Sanketh Buggaveeti, Carlos Castro, Aaron Chase, Xi Chen, Vince Dominic, Thomas Duthel, Tobias A. Eriksson, Sezer Erkilinç, Peter Evans, Chris R. S. Fludger, Ben Foo, Thomas Frost, Paul Gavrilovic, Steven J. Hand, Aditya Kakkar, Ales Kumpera, Vikrant Lal, Robert Maher, Fabio Marques, Fady Masoud, Atul Mathur, Ray Milano, Miguel Iglesias Olmedo, Magnus Olson, Don Pavinski, João Pedro, Amir Rashidinejad, Parmijit Samra, Warren Sande, Azmina Somani, Han Sun, Norman Swenson, Huan-Shang Tsai, Amin Yekani, Jiaming Zhang, Mehrdad Ziari
Infinera Corporation, USA, Canada, Germany, Portugal, and Sweden
WaveFlex Biosensor-using Novel Tri-Tapered in Tapered Four-Core Fiber with Multimode Fiber Coupling for Detection of Aflatoxin B1
JLT Vol. 41, Issue 44 (2023) DOI: 10.1109/JLT.2023.3301069
Authors: Xuecheng Liu1, Ragini Singh1, Guoru Li1, Carlos Marques2, Bingyuan Zhang1, Santosh Kumar1
1Liaocheng University, China 2University of Aveiro, Portugal
IEEE Communications Society Charles Kao Award for Best Optical Communications & Networking Paper
First presented in 2015, this award honors electrical engineer and physicist Sir Charles Kao, who pioneered the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications, and recognizes the best paper published in the IEEE/Optica Journal of Optical Communications and Networking.
Machine-learning-based Anomaly Detection in Optical Fiber Monitoring
JOCN Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 365-375, May 2022
Authors: Khouloud Abdelli1, Joo Yeon Cho1, Florian Azendorf1, Helmut Griesser1, Carsten Tropschug1, Stephan Pachnicke2
1ADVA Optical Networking SE, Germany 2Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany
Tingye Li Innovation Prize
Established in 2013, the prize honors the global impact Tingye Li made on the field of optics and photonics. It is presented for an accepted paper that has demonstrated innovative ideas. The prize is administered by the Optica Foundation and endowed by Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc., AT&T, Optica, IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Communications Society, Thorlabs, Inc., the Li Family, and supporters of the Tingye Li Memorial Fund.
Recipient: To be announced
Jane M. Simmons Memorial Speakership
Established in 2022 to honor the legacy of Jane M. Simmons and her high-impact contributions to optical network architecture, design, and planning, the prize recognizes an invited speaker at OFC. The speakership is administered by The Optica Foundation and endowed by the Jane M. Simmons Family.
Paola Iovanna
Ericsson, Italy
AI-Orchestrated Access Transport Networks for 6G
10:45 – 11:15 Monday 16 March
Room 501ABC
Session: Optical Access Networks for Fixed and Mobile Services
Corning Women in Optical Communications Scholarship
Established in 2019, these scholarships recognize three outstanding women graduate students studying optical communications and networking and support their participation in OFC. The scholarship is administered by The Optica Foundation and endowed by Corning Incorporated.
Recipients: To be announced
Corning Outstanding Student Paper Prize
Established in 2007, the paper competition recognizes innovation, research excellence, and presentation abilities in optical communications. All students submitting their papers during the regular call for papers process for OFC are eligible for the competition. Finalists present their work to the OFC Program and General Chairs in a private session. The prize is administered by The Optica Foundation and endowed by Corning Incorporated.
Finalists:
Romulo Aparecido de Paula Junior
University College London, UK
Kellan Colburn
California Institute of Technology, USA
Arjun Devraj
Cornell University, USA
Samuel Hess
ETH Zurich, Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF), Switzerland
Yanlu Huang
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China
Yuchen Yin
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Presented By
