Young-Kai Chen
About Optica
In Memoriam: Young-Kai Chen, 1953-2026
01 May 2026
Optica Fellow Young-Kai "Y.K." Chen passed away on 1 May 2026, at age 72. Chen was an internationally renowned scholar, scientist, and leader in the field of high-speed semiconductor optoelectronics, wireless networking, and communication technologies. Over the course of his career, Chen held numerous senior leadership positions at Bell Laboratories, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Coherent Corporation.
Chen received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1988. He would go on to spend three decades at Bell Laboratories, where he led teams in communication science, silicon photonics, and digital switching. Chen served as a program manager at DARPA from 2017 to 2021 and joined Coherent Corporation in 2021. In addition, Chen made significant contributions to research programs organized by Taiwan’s National Science Council and the Industrial Technology Research Institute. His participation focused on the development and planning of Taiwan’s 2G and 5G wireless communication technologies. Chen was an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, National Taiwan University, and National Chiao Tung University.
Chen was an engaged Optica volunteer, serving on the C.E.K. Mees Medal Committee (2024), as Chair in 2025, and as Past Chair in 2026. He also served on the Selection Committee for the Couillaud Prize in Ultrafast Lasers in 2024 and as Program Committee Chair for Ultrafast Electronics and Optoelectronics in 2002-2003. Chen was an OFC Short Course Instructor (2012, 2013) and frequently attended the OFC Conference and Exhibition as an exhibitor and technical attendee.
Chen was named a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (Optica) in 2011 for seminal contributions to high-speed optoelectronics and electronics for high-capacity optical communication systems and microwave photonics. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an IEEE Fellow. Chen received the IEEE David Sarnoff Award and the Edison Patent Award and was elected an Academician of Academia Sinica in 2016.
Optica and the scientific community mourn the loss of Y.K. Chen.
