John Ballato

John Ballato received a B.S. degree in ceramic science and engineering and the Ph.D. degree in ceramic and materials engineering from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 1993 and 1997, respectively. He is currently a professor of materials science and engineering at Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA, where he is the inaugural holder of the Sirrine Endowed Chair in Optical Fiber.

Ballato has published more than 450 technical papers and holds 34 U.S. and foreign patents. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Physical Society (APS), Optica (formerly Optical Society of America, OSA), International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE), and American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He is also an elected member of the US National Academy of Inventors and the World Academy of Ceramics.

Presentation title: Glass and lasers– a bright future

Abstract: Hair-thin strands of glass, intrinsically transparent and strong, connect today’s World in ways unimaginable even 20 years ago. Over their 50 years history, glass optical fibers have advanced from passive low-loss conduits for light, to active light-amplifying hosts, to a myriad of nano-to-macro-structuring of core-clad combinations. This talk with discuss this history as a looking-glass into the future of optical fibers and its symbiosis with light to address the question: what can the next 50 years bring?