Eli Yablonovitch stands as a visionary leader in optical physics and semiconductor engineering whose pioneering work has fundamentally shaped modern photonic technologies. He currently serves as Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, holding the James & Katherine Lau Chair Emeritus in Engineering. After earning his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 1972, he established his research career with influential positions at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Harvard University, Exxon Research, and Bell Communications Research before joining UCLA in 1992. His academic journey culminated at UC Berkeley in 2007 where he has continued to drive innovation despite his emeritus status.
Professor Yablonovitch is universally recognized as the Father of the Photonic BandGap concept, having coined the term photonic crystal in his seminal 1987 paper that launched an entirely new field of research with profound implications for optical engineering. His introduction of strained semiconductor lasers revolutionized telecommunications technology, with nearly every internet interaction today relying on this principle through the optical lasers that power global data transmission. In photovoltaics, he established the fundamental 4n squared light-trapping factor known as the Yablonovitch Limit, which has been universally adopted in commercial solar panel design worldwide. His principle that a great solar cell also needs to be a great LED directly led to record-breaking solar cell efficiencies exceeding 29 percent through his startup Alta Devices Inc.
His extraordinary contributions have earned him election to the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London. Professor Yablonovitch has received numerous prestigious honors including the Benjamin Franklin Medal, the IEEE Edison Medal, and the OSA Ives-Quinn Medal for his diverse and transformative contributions to optical science. Beyond academia, he has successfully translated his research into commercial applications through founding multiple companies including Ethertronics Inc., which has shipped over two billion cellphone antennas, and Luxtera Inc., the pioneer in Silicon Photonics. His current research continues to push boundaries in physics-based computing for optimization and deep learning, photonic crystals, and next-generation solar cell technologies, maintaining his position at the forefront of optical engineering innovation.
