Charles K. Kao Chinese, British and American physical engineer Date of Birth: 04.11.1933 Country: China

1. Biography of Charles Kao
2. Early Life and Education
3. Contributions to Fiber Optics
4. Career and Achievements
5. Personal Life and Philanthropy
6. Awards and Recognitions

Biography of Charles Kao

Charles Kuen Kao is a Chinese, British, and American engineer and physicist who is widely recognized for his groundbreaking research and practical applications of fiber-optic technology, which have significantly influenced the telecommunications industry. In 2009, he was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "pioneering achievements in the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication." The other half of the prize was awarded to Willard Boyle and George Smith, who invented the CCD sensor.

Early Life and Education

Charles Kao was born into a family of legal scholars, with his father, Gao Junyan, being a renowned poet and revolutionary. From a young age, Charles and his younger brother U, who is now a professor of hydrodynamics, studied Chinese classics. Charles studied English and French at the Shanghai International School. In 1948, his family moved to Taiwan and later to Hong Kong, where Kao enrolled in college.

He continued his education in England, earning a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Woolwich Polytechnic (now Greenwich University) and a Ph.D. from Imperial College London, which he completed in 1965. While pursuing his Ph.D., Kao worked as an engineer at the Standard Telephones and Cables (STC) research center in Harlow, where he made his revolutionary discovery.

Contributions to Fiber Optics

In 1960, Kao began working in the field of fiber-optic technology when he joined the ITT Corporation's research laboratory in London as an engineer. Together with George Hockham, he made a pioneering discovery that high losses in fiber transmission were caused by impurities in the glass, rather than the technology itself. In 1966, he published a report outlining the key features of fiber-optic communication technology, which laid the groundwork for modern telecommunications.

Kao's key theoretical finding was the identification of the threshold value for signal attenuation. In order for information to be transmitted through fiber-optic channels without significant loss, the attenuation value should not exceed 20 dB/km. However, in the 1960s, fiber had an attenuation of 1000 dB/km or more. This prompted Kao and his team to search for materials that met the established criteria. They found that quartz (SiO2) was the ideal candidate for optical communication due to its low signal attenuation.

Kao was the first to propose the use of fiber-optic cables for long-distance communication, revolutionizing the telecommunications industry. Although initially met with skepticism, Kao's personal involvement in the engineering and commercialization process brought about significant change.

Career and Achievements

In 1970, Kao was invited to join the University of Hong Kong to establish the Department of Electrical Engineering. After four years, he moved to the United States to work for the ITT Corporation, which was the parent company of STC. He initially held the position of Chief Scientist and later became the Director of Engineering at the company's Virginia branch. In 1982, Kao became the Chief Scientist for the entire corporation and worked at the ITT Advanced Technology Center in Connecticut.

Kao returned to China in 1987 and served as the Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1996. He also served as the Chairman of Transtech Services Limited and founded the Independent Schools Foundation Academy. Currently, Kao resides in Hong Kong and leads ITX Services. He frequently visits the United States, where his family resides.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

In 1959, Kao married a British Chinese woman named Gwen, whom he met in London during his studies. They have two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom live and work in Silicon Valley, California. In early 2009, Kao was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, which his father had also suffered from. Alongside his wife, he made a donation from his Nobel Prize winnings (approximately $700,000) towards research in this field and medical assistance for those affected.

Kao enjoys reading traditional Chinese literature, particularly usya, and his hobbies include making clay vases and other crafts.

Awards and Recognitions

Throughout his career, Charles Kao has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to science and technology. Some of his notable awards include the Nobel Prize in Physics (2009), IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, Faraday Medal, Gold Medal of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Prince Philip Medal. He is an honorary professor and doctor of various universities worldwide, including the University of Glasgow, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Padua University, Yale University, and Princeton University.

In 1996, an asteroid discovered in 1981 was named Kaokuen in his honor.