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Ivan Hernandez
Professor Conrad
ENGR-1202
12 February 2015
The Father of Fiber Optics Charles K. Kao
From a very early age, I have had an interest in signaling processes. At the
age of sixteen I was given the opportunity to learn more about this interest through
my uncle, a certified fiber splicer technician, by shadowing his work over the
summer. I started off cleaning the splice trailer unit until I was given the opportunity
to splice a couple of small clods. At the time, he worked for a local communication
company by the name of Fibrant. He recently started his own Splicing Company
where I intend to work in the future with the intent of making it a family business. I
look forward to earning a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and to work
towards earning a Masters Degree in Optical Science and Engineering. To further
prepare for my career, it is important to examine Charles K. Kao, considered the
Father of Fiber Optic Communications, In order to gain a greater understanding of
the origins of fiber optics in telecommunications and the impact Kao has
accomplished for society.
Charles K. Kao was born in Shanghai, China in 1933 (Organization). He earned
his Bachelors of Science Degree at the University of Greenwich in London. He
earned and got his Doctorate at the University College London (Organization 34). In
the concentration of Electrical Engineering. Kao worked for various Companies and
research establishments and was a professor at various colleges including Yale

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University. Today, Kao is recognized as one of the major sponsors of Yales
engineering programs.

Figure 1: Picture above is Charles K. Kao attending a ceremony at Princeton

University where he was awarded an award (New York Times 12).
Under the employment of Standard Telephone Laboratories, Kao led a project
by the name Dialectic Fiber Surface Wave Guides for Optical Frequencies (Hayes
24). I was shocked to know that the project led by Kao was denied for a patent by
Standard Telephone Laboratories. Later, another group of researchers came with the
same finding and obtained a patent for it. This to me was a huge mistake by
Standard Telephone Laboratories. The finding he didnt get patent was named as
the principle of optical transmission (Kao 43). The function of already established
fibers demonstrated the transmittance of modulated light waves through the new
fibers drowned out from pure glass. Although Kao did not produce the first optical
devices but was the pioneer who noticed the loss of fiber because of impurities. Kao
pioneered the research of reducing fiber lost to improve the quality and proposed
the goal to be reached of 20 dB/km (Kao 43). In just 4 years, Kaos goal was met
and marked a cornerstone for the telecommunications field (Hayes 24).

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Figure 2: Charles K. Kao working with the long transmittance fiber that is called
Silica (Grandin).
After the finding of fiber optic ware that could match and exceed the cable
ware and copper signaling capacities, many companies have started to implement
this form of transferring information. Today, fiber optics can offer huge amounts of
bandwidth for high-speed communications and information access. For a example,
Google Fiber has launched its internet service through the use of fiber optics instead
of the old inefficient and expensive materials such as copper (Barr 23). Without the
initiative of Kao to find materials such as Silica to reduce loss of fiber, we would
have a slow use of transferring information. Not only does fiber optics allow fast
speeds, but, they also include a very low cost.

Figure 3: Illustrates the impact of fiber optics has in telecommunications

today (Barr).

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Concluesion
Learning from the intial struggles faced by Charles K. Kao and how he pushed
forward illustrates the dedication that is needed to overcome obstacles. Kaos life
also illustrates that research is done to help others and not just to further an
individuals knowledge. Kao was a good example of how not to get discourage if your
work is not appreciated. He instead went further in the subject until reaching his
goal. I would like to replicate Kaos achievements since he has definitely made an
impact in all sectors of technology today and be remembered as a pioneer in
Optical Science.

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Works Cited
Barr, Alistair. "Google Fiber Is Fast, but Is It Fair?" The Wall Street Journal (2014).
Grandin, Karl. " The Nobel Prizes 2009." Les Prix Nobel. (2010): 7-9.
Griffiths, Hugh. "Charles K. Kao And Other Telecommunications Pioneers." Charles K.
Kao And Other Telecommunications Pioneers March 2010: 18.
Hayes, Jim. Fiber Optics Technician's Handbook,. Albany: Delmar Publishers, 1999.
Kao, Charles K. Optical fiber technology, II. Wiley: Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, 1981.
New York Times. 07 10 2009. 29 January 2015.
<http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/10/07/science/07nobel.650.jpg>
.
Nobelprize.org. Charles K. Kao - Biographical. 29 March 2009. 24 January 2015.
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/kaobio.html>.