Pioneering engineer behind DVD and broadband technology honoured for achievements
Friday 26 October 2012
Lauded engineer Professor Alf Adams the man behind the technology that enables DVDs to be read and underpins ultra fast broadband will be rewarded for his outstanding achievements by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
His work on ‘strained quantum well lasers’ at the University of Surrey was recently named as one of the Top Ten greatest UK scientific breakthroughs of all time.
Semi-conductor lasers have been one of Prof Adams’ major interests for over 30 years. In 1986 he proposed that the electronic band structure of quantum well lasers could be significantly improved by deliberately growing the active layer in a state of strain.
It was found that this greatly improved almost all the laser’s properties and presently strained quantum-well devices dominate the semi-conductor laser market. They are used for the internet, DVDs, computer memories, and even to provide the power for metal cutting and welding.
Professor Adams will receive an Honorary Fellowship at a special ceremony in London on November 22 in recognition of his work on the strained quantum-well laser. In 1967 he joined the University of Surrey where he is now Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Professor Adams said: “I am delighted and feel greatly honoured to receive this very prestigious award. However, I would like to acknowledge the considerable efforts of the many other engineers whose ingenuity has made it possible for strained-layer lasers to find such a myriad of applications.”
Dr N F Chin and Dr Irwin Mark Jacobs will also be rewarded for their outstanding achievements with Honorary Fellowships from the IET.
IET President, Professor Andy Hopper CBE, said: “I am delighted that we are able to mark these outstanding individuals with the IET’s highest honour. Their contribution to science, engineering and technology is immense and their positive influence is felt by us all every day, right across the world.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
The IET is Europe’s largest professional body of engineers with over 150,000 members in 127 countries.
For more information, visit www.theiet.org.
Follow the IET on Twitter.
The list of the greatest discoveries by UK academics was compiled from the Universities UK publication, Eureka, and spans discoveries from the past 60 years.
