Alan
E. Willner, professor of electrical engineering, has been elected
president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’
(IEEE) Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS). Willner’s term
will begin January 1, 2006, and he will serve as president of the
7,500-member society for two years.
Almost half of the LEOS members are from outside the U.S. The society sponsors or
co-sponsors more than 30 international technical conferences and
publishes six technical journals.
“Alan has a distinguished research record in the fields of
photonics, fiber optic communications, and opto-electronic systems and
devices,” said Alexander Sawchuk, professor and chair of the USC
Viterbi School’s Department of Electrical Engineering-Systems.
“Our department joins me in congratulating him. His election is a
recognition of his stature in the LEOS technical community.”
USC Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos said “Alan is an
inspiration to all who know him for his creative teaching, superb
research and highly dedicated work ethic. It is gratifying to see
that his LEOS colleagues have recognized his leadership. We
congratulate him warmly.”
Willner earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1988 from
Columbia University in New York. He has received the National
Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award, the NSF Presidential
Faculty Fellows Award from the White House, the Packard Foundation Fellow Award, IEEE and
Optical Society Fellow, and a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award. He
has also won USC Associates Award for University-wide Excellence in
Teaching, and both the Viterbi School’s teaching award and junior
faculty research award. Willner has also acted as editor-in-chief
of two different IEEE journals.
With over 500 publications, Willner's research is focused on high-speed optical fiber communication
systems, with emphasis on wavelength-division-multiplexed technologies
and networks. His research has been supported by Cisco, DARPA,
HP, Intel, NSA, NSF, and the Packard and Powell Foundations.
