Fumio Koyama to receive 27th Okawa Prize

Published: September 19, 2018

Tokyo Tech's Dr. Fumio Koyama, director-general of the Institute of Innovative Research and professor at the Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Technology, has been selected to receive the 2018 Okawa Prize "for seminal contributions to VCSEL photonics in proposing high speed modulation and beam steering capability toward advanced optical communications and optical sensing."

The Okawa Prize, which pays tribute to persons who have made outstanding international contributions to research, technological development, and business in the information and telecommunications fields, is presented to one or two recipients each year by the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications. In 2018, Dr. Constance Chang-Hasnain, who is Associate Dean for Strategic Alliances, College of Engineering and the John R. Whinnery Distinguished Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at University of California, Berkeley, also received the prize.

Comments from Prof. Fumio Koyama

Dr. Fumio Koyama

I am honored to be considered by the Okawa Foundation as a recipient of this very prestigious prize. It has been over 40 years since Professor Emeritus Kenichi Iga invented the VCSEL as a new type of semiconductor laser. Since then, VCSELs have been widely used for various applications such as datacenter networks, high-resolution laser printers, and 3D optical sensing in smartphones. These fields have made a great impact on the Internet of Things, and will continue to develop rapidly. I would like to thank my mentors — Yasuharu Suematsu and Kenichi Iga — and all my fellow researchers, my graduate students, and all those who contributed to this achievement. This recognition will further stimulate and invigorate my research efforts in the field. Finally, I am delighted to hear that my friend of many years, Dr. Chang-Hasnain from University of California, Berkeley, has also been selected to receive this prize in 2018.

The 2018 awards ceremony will take place in Tokyo on November 7. Koyama will be the fourth Tokyo Tech member to receive the Okawa Prize. Professor Emeriti Taizo Iijima, Yasuharu Suematsu, and Honorary Professor Sadaoki Furui received the award in 2002, 2006, and 2012 respectively.

Contact

Fumio Koyama

Director-General, Institute of Innovative Research

Email koyama@pi.titech.ac.jp

Tel +81-45-924-5068