Charles K. Kao

4 November 1933 – 23 September 2018

Charles Kuen Kao was a Chinese-born electrical engineer and physicist whose work on light transmission in glass fibres underpinned modern fibre-optic communication. Working at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in England, he showed in 1966 that impurities rather than glass itself limited optical loss. He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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Life events

Born in Shanghai, Republic of China
4 November 1933

Born into a scholarly family; his father was a lawyer and judge.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Moved with his family to Hong Kong
1948

The family left Shanghai during the Chinese Civil War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Graduated in electrical engineering from Woolwich Polytechnic in London
1957

Completed his first degree after moving to England to study.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Joined Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in Harlow
1960

Worked at the research centre of Standard Telephones and Cables, where he began studying optical waveguides.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Received a PhD in electrical engineering from University College London
1965
Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published the paper on dielectric-fibre surface waveguides with George Hockham
1966

Argued that glass fibres could carry optical signals over long distances once impurities were removed.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong to found its electronics department
1970

Set up the department and served as its first chairman before returning to industry research.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Became Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
1987 – 1996

Led the university until his retirement in 1996.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics
2009

Recognised for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Hong Kong
23 September 2018

Died at the age of 84; he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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