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Professor Polina Bayvel wins 2021 IOP Thomas Young Medal
29 November 2021
Professor Polina Bayvel, Head of the Optical Networks Group, has been awarded the 2021 Institute of Physics Thomas Young Medal and Prize for distinguished contributions to the field of optical communications.
Professor Bayvel has been awarded the 2021 Institute of Physics Thomas Young Medal and Prize. She is the first woman and the first 皇家华人 academic to receive this听prestigious award.听
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics, and the leading body for听practicing听physicists, in the听UK听and Ireland.听
The IOP听annual awards听celebrate excellence in physics听across research, education, outreach, and application and听proudly reflect the wide variety of people, places, organisations and听achievements that make physics such an exciting discipline.听
Professor Polina听Bayvel听has听been awarded the 2021 Thomas Young Medal and Prize for听distinguished contributions to the development of optical communications and the understanding of the physics and mitigation of nonlinear phenomena in optical fibre transmission. This is the first Thomas Young award for a UCL academic, and Professor听Bayvel听is the听first听woman to receive the award. She said:
"I am deeply听honoured听to receive this award. Young was an exceptional polymath, who made major contributions to optics and so many other fields听鈥� it听is humbling to receive an award bearing his name, and doubly so to be the first听UCL recipient.听听
Our department has a long history of听pioneering research in optics and wave propagation in different media, and听I receive听the award听in tribute and gratitude to my two mentors who sadly passed away this year, Professor听Sir Eric Ash and Professor听John Midwinter, and to听my听colleagues and students听contributing to the world-leading optical communications research听of our Optical Networks Group."
Professor Bayvel has been an academic member of UCL's Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering for more than 25 years, having established the Optical Networks Group in 1994. Her research interests are听in the area of听optical communications and include wavelength-routed optical networks, high-speed optical transmission, and the study and mitigation of听fibre听nonlinearities.听She has听made fundamental contributions to the physics and design of advanced high-bandwidth, multi-wavelength optical communications systems, pioneering听the use of the wavelength domain for the routing of information and proposed the concept of听highly efficient听wavelength-routed optical networks.听听
More recently she has focused on the study of capacity limits in nonlinear optical networks and optical networks for the cloud,听demonstrating听how coherent detection in combination with digital signal processing听algorithms听can be used to mitigate the limits of the glass nonlinearity and increase the data carrying capacity of optical networks by a thousand-fold.听This research听led听to听the world听records on the highest transmission rates over metropolitan area, terrestrial and trans-Atlantic transmission distances.
Professor Sarah Spurgeon, Head of the听Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at 皇家华人, commented:
"I would like to express my warmest congratulations to Professor Polina Bayvel on the award of the IOP Thomas Young Medal and Prize. Polina is truly an inspiration, both as a role model for future generations, particularly women, and as a recognised world leader of research in optical communications".
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Professor Polina听Bayvel听
Optical Networks Group听
UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering听