Melbourne student wins Marconi award

The 2013 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholars Award has been awarded to Desmond (Ke) Wang, an electrical and electronic engineering PhD student at the University of Melbourne. This is the first time an Australian has received this prestigious award.

Wang is a specialist in optical-wireless technology and is involved in research at NICTA, Australia’s Research Centre of Excellence in information and communications technology.

The Marconi Society is an international organisation that recognises the achievements of scientists in the field of communications science and the internet. Young Scholars are individuals who have “demonstrated exceptional engineering or scientific research and entrepreneurial capabilities with the potential to create significant advances telecommunications and the internet”.

Wang’s research involves optical-wireless technology for ultrabroadband in-building communications and reconfigurable optical interconnects. Over the past three years, he has been first author on over 40 publications in top journals and conferences and received a number of conference awards.

“Desmond has demonstrated an exceptional academic quality and independence in research,” said Professor Christina Lim, one of Desmond’s research supervisors at the University of Melbourne. “He has an amazing capacity to understand and analyse complex optical theories and applies these theories in practical demonstration. In addition, he has developed excellent practical hands-on and strong experimental skills in the design, construct and development of optical subsystems and systems for his research work.

“There’s no doubt he will make significant research contributions in the years to come and will be a future leader in the field of optical communications.”

Desmond will receive the award at the Marconi Society’s annual celebration in Bologna, Italy, on 1 October.