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Professor Joyce Poon (ECE). Photo by Jason KB.

Technology Review magazine has named Professor Joyce Poon one of this year’s ‘TR35,’ a group of the world’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35. Selected by a panel of expert judges and magazine editorial staff , the TR35 recognizes young researchers who are tackling important problems in transformative ways and opening up new possibilities in technology.

Professor Poon (along with PhD student Wesley Sacher) conceived and demonstrated the first optical-electronic device that bypasses the trade-off between speed and power efficiency when imparting data onto a light wave using resonant modulation. Breaking the speed/efficiency trade-off, a first step in curbing the energy consumption of communications, is critical for the sustainability of the IT sector. Currently, data centres (the hubs of cloud computing) rack up more than $20 billion in energy costs annually.

“I am honoured by the recognition, which is as much for me as it is for the excellent students in my research group,” said Professor Poon. “The MIT TR35 is just a first step as we strive to be the best in the world at what we do.  We have a lot of research ahead of us!”

Professor Poon and her team are developing microphotonic devices which will enable inefficient electrical communication networks to one day be replaced by optical links. A key component of such systems is an optical modulator that converts electrical data into light signals. Resonant optical modulators are promising because they are smaller and more efficient than traditional modulators. However, it was long thought that they suffer from a speed/efficiency trade-off. Professor Poon’s team proved that previous resonant optical modulators failed to recognize the opportunity to modulate not the energy stored in the resonator, but, instead, the extraction rate of that stored energy. Their research shows how ultra-low-loss resonators can be used for high-speed ultra-low-power optical modulators; something previously thought impossible.

“Joyce Poon’s achievements would be remarkable for any researcher, but for someone in the first few years of her career, they are absolutely extraordinary,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Like many of our young faculty members, she is already on her way to becoming a pioneer in her field. We are extremely proud of Joyce’s accomplishments and congratulate her on this richly deserved recognition.”

Professor Poon is profiled in the September/October issue of Technology Review. She will also be honoured at the EmTech MIT conference, taking place October 24-26 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Read more about Professor Poon’s achievement in The Globe and Mail  and Toronto Star .

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