Professor Ooi is a pioneer in the development of low-coherence light sources (broadband lasers and superluminescent diodes) and visible light communications. His work led to the development of Gbit/s for indoor and underwater wireless communications.

Biography

Boon S. Ooi (FNAI, FIEEE, FOSA, FSPIE and FInstP) is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at KAUST. He was the Director of the KACST-Technology Innovation Center at KAUST from 2012 to 2020.

His research interests include high-speed optoelectronics and optical wireless communications. To date, he has trained 38 Ph.D. students and 17 postdoctoral fellows and placed them in top positions in academia, industry and government all over the world.

He is an inventor of 41 issued US Patents and the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2024 Sang Soo Lee Award from the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the Optical Society of Korea (OSK); the Khalifa International Award (UAE, 2023); the International Date Palm Innovation Prize (Saudi Arabia, 2022); and the PIFI Distinguished Scientist Award (CAS-China, 2021); as well as many paper awards.

Professor Ooi has served as Associate Editor of the Optics Express, Senior Editor of the IEEE Photonics Journal and Chair/Co-Chair/TPC of OFC, CLEO, IPC, ISLC, and IEDM. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

Professor Ooi is currently serving, or has previously served, on several prestigious committees, including the IEEE Fellow Committee, the SPIE Fellow Selection Committee and the IEEE Women in Photonics Award Committee.

Research Interests

Professor Ooi's recent research focuses on high-speed optoelectronics, optical wireless communications, and distributed optical sensors.

Professional Profile

Awards and Distinctions

  • Fellow of National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Optical Society of America (OSA), International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), and the Institute of Physics (U.K.), Jun 2 2024

Professional Memberships

  • Associate Editor, OSA Optics Express, Jul 25 2024
  • Associate Editor, IEEE Photonics Journal, Jul 25 2024
  • Associate Editor, SPIE Journal of Nanophotonics, Jul 25 2024

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Electronics & Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1994
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)
Electronics & Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1992

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Quote

Our lab designs and develops light generating, detecting and manipulating devices and systems that can be applied to optical communications, energy, and environmental and agricultural monitoring.