Michal Lipson

Biography

Essentially defining the field of silicon photonics with critical building blocks, Michal Lipson has been at the forefront of developing a key technology for data communications. Lipson was among the first to realize the power of using silicon as an optical medium and the potential of using photons to detect, process, and transmit information more efficiently than electrical signals. Her demonstration of the first ring-resonator-based modulator and efficient waveguide-fiber couplers paved the way for the development of on-chip optical interconnects. In addition, her development of silicon slot waveguides allows nanoscale subwavelength light confinement in lossless dielectric structures well beyond the traditional diffraction limit. She has demonstrated the use of slot waveguides for optical manipulation and on-chip transport of nanoparticles and biomolecules, which carries enormous importance for biomedical applications.

An IEEE Fellow, Lipson is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering with Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.