News

Optica is pleased to announce that Keren Bergman, Columbia University, USA, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the C.E.K. Mees Medal. Bergman is honored for pioneering research on optical interconnects and photonic architectures for high-performance computing.

PhD Student Songli Wang was interviewed by Columbia Engineering about his summer 2024 internship at Intel, where he worked in their Silicon Photonics Research Team, researching silicon photonic switch designs. In the interview, Wang said: “It was incredibly rewarding to see my contributions directly align with the team’s objectives and make a tangible impact on the project”.

In summer 2025, Songli will be interning at NVIDIA.

Vignesh Gopal has successfully defended his thesis, "Application Specific Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits". Dr. Gopal will next be heading to work at Beacon Photonics. Congratulations!

Xscape Photonics, a startup co-founded by Prof. Bergman and other Columbia collaborators, has secured $44 million in Series A funding in order to continue their work looking into dense wavelength division multiplexing for dense data center interconnects.

At its second annual review, the Center for Ubiquitous Connectivity (CUbiC) emphasized advancements in energy efficiency, disruptive innovation, and its support for the next generation of the semiconductor workforce.

On June 27 and 28, faculty, students, researchers, industry experts, and government officials convened in Morningside Heights to discuss CUbiC’s research, its funders’ priorities, and to celebrate advancements in technology and outreach. In a series of presentations, poster sessions, demonstrations, and discussions, CUbiC’s members and students offered updates from across…

Prof. Bergman was recently interview by the 3D InCites Podcast during ECTC 2024, where she discussed the role photonics can play in solving the AI energy problem, as well as the new generation of integrated photonics packaging. 

Prof. Bergman recently spoke with Laser Focus World's senior technical editor about her keynote address at IEEE’s 74th Electronics and Components Technology Conference (ECTC), and discussed the challenges of co-packaging electronics and photonics.

Stuart Daudlin has successfully defended his thesis, "Energy Efficient and High Density Integrated Photonic Transceivers". Dr. Daudlin will be continuing his work at LRL as a postdoctoral researcher. Congratulations!

At the inaugural annual review of Columbia Engineering’s Center for Ubiquitous Connectivity (CUbiC), held June 27-28, faculty, students, researchers, industry experts, and government officials convened to discuss new and ongoing research and share insights, fostering collaboration and driving advancements in the field of ubiquitous connectivity. Attended by about 115 in-person guests and additional participants who joined virtually, the two-day event at Columbia’s Morningside campus delved into three research themes: connectivity networks and systems, wireline and lightwave interconnects,…

Maarten Hattink has successfully defended his thesis and received his PhD. We wish him the best with his future endeavors!

In a study published today in Nature Photonics, researchers at Columbia Engineering demonstrate an energy-efficient method for transferring larger quantities of data over the fiber-optic cables that connect the nodes. This new technology improves on previous attempts to transmit multiple signals simultaneously over the same fiber-optic cables. Instead of using a different laser to generate each wavelength of light, the new chips require only a single laser to generate hundreds of distinct wavelengths of light that can simultaneously transfer independent streams of data. …

Asher Novick has successfully defended his thesis, "Robust and Scalable Silicon Photonic Interconnects and Devices". Dr. Novick will next be heading to Xscape Photonics, where he will be working as a Senior Silicon Photonics R&D Engineer. We wish him the best with his new endeavors!