Congratulations to Yating Wan from KAUST. She won this year’s early career prize for her work in Silicon Photonics.
About
Dr. Yating Wan won this year’s early career prize for her work in Silicon Photonics. Her research focuses on integrating light sources onto silicon chips for more energy-efficient data communication and information processing.
Leading the Integrated Photonics Lab at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Dr. Wan is recognized for her novel integration of ‘quantum dot’ lasers — nanocrystals made from semiconductor materials — with silicon photonics, demonstrating important progress toward commercial use of photonic chips. With tech industry collaborators working on the same goals, her team is exploring how to deploy the chips in practical, real-world applications, such as optical datacom, sensing, and AI.
Commenting on their decision to award Wan the Early Career prize, the judging panel highlighted that as a rising star in her field, Wan is making “significant contributions to future of data communications and potential to revolutionize the future of silicon photonic sensors.”
