2025 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize Winner
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Optica Names David A. B. Miller 2025 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize Recipient
Optica is pleased to announce that David A. B. Miller, Stanford University, USA, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize. Miller is recognized for fundamental scientific and engineering research contributions spanning multiple areas, including optics in digital systems, fundamentals of optics and waves, and complex and controllable photonic circuits. This is Optica’s highest award.
“David Miller is a highly innovative scientist, who has made multiple fundamental contributions to optics,” said Jim Kafka, 2025 Optica President. “He is also a talented educator and dedicated volunteer, and I have had the distinct pleasure of learning from him during many of my visits to Stanford. It is a pleasure to congratulate him on this well-deserved honor."
Miller received his BS degree in physics from St. Andrews University and his PhD in physics from Heriot-Watt University. He is currently the W. M. Keck Professor of Electrical Engineering (Emeritus since Oct. 2024), and Professor by Courtesy of Applied Physics at Stanford University. Before joining Stanford, he was a department head with Bell Laboratories.
His research has covered semiconductor optics and optoelectronics, especially the discovery of the quantum-confined Stark effect in quantum wells and its application to optical modulators and switches; optics in digital systems, in particular his contributions to and analysis of the benefits of optical interconnects; nanophotonic structures and devices; fundamentals of optics and waves, including especially the concept of communication modes and its applications; and complex and controllable photonic circuits, including invention of universal architectures and of algorithms for their automatic configuration.
He has published over 300 scientific papers, holds over 75 patents, has a Google h-index of over 110, is the author of the textbook Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers (Cambridge, 2008), and has taught open online quantum mechanics classes to over 80,000 students. He was President of the IEEE LEOS (now Photonics Society) in 1995, and has served on boards for various societies, companies, and university and government bodies. His awards include the Adolph Lomb Medal, R. W. Wood Prize, the ICO International Prize in Optics, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, and the Carnegie Millennium Professorship. He is a Fellow of Optica, AAAS, APS, IEEE, the Electromagnetics Academy, the Royal Society of London, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He holds two Honorary Doctorates, and is a Member of the US National Academies of Sciences and of Engineering.
First presented in 1929, the Frederic Ives Medal recognizes overall distinction in optics. The Quinn Prize was added in 1995 in honor of Optica’s first Executive Director, Jarus W. Quinn. The medal was endowed by Herbert E. Ives, a distinguished charter member and 1924 - 1925 Society President, to honor his father for his pioneering contributions to color photography, three-color process printing, and other branches of applied optics. The prize is funded by the Jarus W. Quinn Ives Medal Endowment raised by members and staff at the time of Quinn's retirement in recognition of his 25 years of service as the Society's first Executive Director.
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.
