2026 R. W. Wood Prize Winner
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Optica Names Jelena Vuckovic the 2026 R.W. Wood Prize Recipient
Optica is pleased to announce that Jelena Vuckovic, Stanford University, USA, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the R.W. Wood Prize. Vuckovic is honored for pioneering contributions to integrated photonics, foundational work in quantum photonics, and the breakthrough development of a practical photonic inverse design.
Vuckovic is the Jensen Huang Professor of Global Leadership, Professor of Electrical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Applied Physics at Stanford, where she leads the Nanoscale and Quantum Photonics Lab in the Ginzton Laboratory. She also served as the Fortinet Founders Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department and was the inaugural director of QFARM, the Stanford-SLAC Quantum Initiative. She receiving her PhD in electrical engineering from Caltech.
Vukovic is the lead editor of Physical Review Applied, a member of the PNAS Editorial Board, and a co-founder and a lead scientific advisor of SPINS Photonics. Her research interests are broadly in the areas of photonics and quantum science and engineering, and her current projects include semiconductor quantum systems, heterogeneously integrated, inverse designed photonics, and on-chip integrated laser systems, such as Ti:sapphire lasers. She has graduated 33 PhD students and 25 postdocs so far.
She is a Fellow of Optica, APS, and IEEE, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics. Her additional awards and honors include the James Gordon Memorial Speakership, the Zeiss Research Award, the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, Geoffrey Frew Fellowship, the IET A. F. Harvey Engineering Research Prize, Distinguished Scholarship of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich, Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship, Marko V. Jaric Award, Humboldt Prize, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, DARPA Young Faculty Award, and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.
Established in 1975, the Wood Prize recognizes an outstanding discovery, scientific or technical achievement or invention in the field of optics. The accomplishment is measured chiefly by its impact on the field of optics and is one that opens a new era of research or significantly expands an established one. It honors the many contributions that R.W. Wood made to optics, and is endowed by Xerox Corp.
About Optica
Optica, Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, is the society dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students and others interested in the science of light. Optica's renowned publications, meetings, online resources and in-person activities fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate scientific, technical and educational achievement.
Headshot Photo Credit: Stanford School of Engineering
Lab Photo Credit: Craig Lee
