Infinera Co-founder Receives Engineering Award

Dr. David Welch, Infinera co-founder, president and board member, has received the JJ Thomson Medal for Electronics from the Institution of Engineering and Technology in recognition of his pioneering work in the field of optical devices and optical networks, the photonic integrated circuit maker announced Wednesday.

Welch's technical contributions and leadership "first made it possible to commercially deploy reliable high-power semiconductor lasers including 980-nm laser pumps, crucially needed in low-noise optical amplifiers employed in DWDM [dense wavelength division multiplexing] systems, the institution said on its website. He later achieved the first commercial optoelectronics integrated circuit “several years ahead of any competing research or developments in the laboratory. Such early devices marked a quantum step in optical system design, and today integrated optoelectronics circuits are key to solving the bandwidth and energy issues faced by future wireline and wireless telecom networks."

"It is an honor to receive this award and to be recognized for these achievements," Welch said. "What I am most proud of is how these innovations have now been incorporated in highly successful commercial systems by the team at Infinera and are making a difference in how networks are built and delivering a better experience for Internet users around the globe."

The Institution of Engineering and Technology Achievement Awards recognize some of the world's top engineering talent and acknowledge individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of science, engineering and technology in any sector, either through research and development in their respective technical field or through their leadership of an enterprise.

For more information, visit: www.theiet.org or www.infinera.com