2023 Joseph Fraunhofer Award / Robert M. Burley Prize Winner

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Optica Names Xiaoyi Bao the 2023 Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize Recipient

Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide, is pleased to announce that Xiaoyi Bao, University of Ottawa, Canada has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize. Bao is honored for seminal contributions to optical fiber-based systems ranging from telecom testing protocols and instruments, to pioneering work on distributed sensor instrumentation for infrastructure monitoring, to multi-parameter sensing probes for medical imaging.

Bao received her Master’s degree from Nankai University, China, and Ph.D. in optics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. She is currently the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Fiber Optics and Photonics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, she was a Professor at the University of New Brunswick, Canada and a Research Fellow at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.

Bao's research focuses on optical fiber-based systems ranging from telecom testing protocols and instruments to distributed fiber sensors for infrastructure monitoring and non-destructive testing. Recently, the scope of her sensing research has been broadened to include nonlinear and quantum optics effects in optical fibers, developing micro-nano fiber devices for self-locked low-noise random lasers, and fabrication of micro- and nano- waveguide devices to be used as ultrasound transmitters and receivers for ultrasound treatment and imaging.

She was on Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Scientists List in 2020 and 2021. She also received the 2021 Governor General’s Innovation Award celebrating outstanding Canadian innovations and two Canadian Association of Physicists Medals for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial and Applied Physics and for Applied Photonic. Bao serves as Editor for Light: Science & Applications, and is Associate Editor for PhotoniX. She is a Fellow of Optica, SPIE and the Royal Society of Canada.

First presented in 1982, the Fraunhofer Award recognizes significant research accomplishments in the field of optical engineering, and honors the contributions that Joseph Fraunhofer made to the field. The prize was added in 1992 in memory of Robert M. Burley, who exemplified many of the highest attributes of the optical engineer and was the first recipient of the award. The award and prize are endowed by the Baird Corporation, the Burley Family, and Prof. Shin-Tson Wu.

About Optica

Optica (formerly OSA), 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. Discover more at: Optica.org