Optical fibre pioneer honoured by world of science

Professor David Payne FRS, CBE, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton, will be awarded the Kelvin Medal, one of science's most prestigious honours, at a ceremony at the Institution of Civil Engineers, on Tuesday 2 November.

The award follows the presentation to Professor Payne last week of the CBE from HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace, for services to photonics.

Previous winners of the Kelvin Medal include radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi and Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine.

A leading international expert in photonics and optical fibre technology, Professor Payne has spearheaded many key advances in optical-fibre communications, including the development of the erbium-doped fibre amplifier, which has revolutionised telecommunications over the past thirty years.

Professor Payne is Chairman and Director of Southampton Photonics Inc, an international spin-out company from the University of Southampton which manufactures several of his inventions. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Optical Society of America and the Royal Society of Arts. This year he celebrates his fortieth year at the University of Southampton, which he joined as an undergraduate in 1964.

He commented: 'This honours not just me, but all the hundreds of world-class photonics scientists with whom I have had the privilege to work over the years and who have made the ORC the internationally recognized centre it is today. I am looking forward to many more years of innovation in this exciting field.'

Professor John Burland, Chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineers awards committee added: 'Professor Payne's research into photonics, and its application to produce many of the key advances in optic fibre communications over the past 30 years, has made an outstanding contribution to the application of science to engineering. This exceptional work makes him a very worthy winner of the Kelvin Medal for 2004.'