About
In Memoriam: John E. Midwinter, 1938 - 2021
Nov 18, 2021
John E. Midwinter, a pioneer in fiber optic communications and Fellow of the Royal Society, has passed away at the age of 83. Midwinter was a Professor Emeritus at the University College of London and served as Vice Provost from 1994-1999. He was known for his research on single-mode fibers at British Telecom Research Laboratories, which led to his landmark work showing that single-mode fibers could transmit at much higher data rates than the multimode fibers of the day. Midwinter was elected to Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1984, and in 1985, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. Midwinter authored numerous books and papers, including Applied Nonlinear Optics, which proved highly influential for many years.
Midwinter attended St. Bartholomew’s School primary school and then pursued a bachelor’s degree in Physics at King’s College London (1961). He went on to get his Ph.D. in 1968 from the University of London. Midwinter’s research at British Telecom focused on optical fiber technology, and he led the team that developed the first installed traffic-carrying graded-index fiber links in the United Kingdom’s network. This work was critical in establishing fiber optics as the UK’s preferred transmission medium. Midwinter served as the BT Professor of Optoelectronics at the University College London (1984-199) and then the Pender Professor of Electronic Engineering from 1991 to 2004. During that time, he was also Vice Provost for five years (1994-1999). His research at University College shifted to photonic switching and all-optical networks, which led to today’s dense wavelength division multiplexing networks.
During his career, Midwinter wrote and co-authored several books and hundreds of papers. Notable titles authored by Midwinter include Applied Nonlinear Optics (1973), Photonics in Switching (1993), and Optica Fibers for Transmission (1997). Midwinter was a Fellow of IEEE, IEE, Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Physics. He was recognized with the IEE J.J. Thomson Medal for Electronics and the Faraday Medal, which was awarded for his notable scientific and industrial global achievements over his lifetime. Midwinter was also made OBE and presented with the Clifford Paterson Medal and Lecture by the Royal Society.
John Midwinter was a talented educator and scientist who will be missed by his many students, collaborators, and friends. Optica and the scientific community mourn the loss of John Midwinter.
