Clemson researcher named member of National Academy of Engineering

Published: February 16, 2012

CLEMSON — The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has named a new member from Clemson University, optics researcher Roger Stolen.

A pioneer in engineering methods to harness light, Stolen is a distinguished visiting professor in materials science and engineering and faculty member in Clemson’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET).

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education. The academy cited Stolen for "contributions to fiber nonlinear optics and invention of polarization preserving fiber."

"Election as a member of one of the National Academies is among the highest honors a scientist or engineer can achieve in this country," said Gerald Sonnenfeld, vice president for research at Clemson. "This is a well-deserved and especially distinguished honor and his colleagues at Clemson are delighted to congratulate him."

"I've had the privilege to know Roger for nearly 20 years and we’ve worked together on a number of research projects, and I can say without qualification that the academy's choice was a well-deserved one," said COMSET director John Ballato. "Roger is a tremendous asset to Clemson and will prove to be an excellent addition to the National Academy of Engineering."

Stolen worked for Bell Labs for three decades and was part of the team that first observed optical solitons, ultra-short pulses that travel great distances without dispersion. Soliton properties of optical pulses play an important role in modern high-capacity optical communication systems. He began his research in the field of fiber optics in 1971.

A retired professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech, he joined Clemson in 2006. In 2008 he was elected a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the world's most successful science academies since its founding in 1724.

He has received the Optical Society of America's (OSA) R.W. Wood Prize and the Institute of Electrical Engineers/OSA John Tyndall Award for advancements made through his research.

Stolen earned a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and a doctorate in solid state physics from the University of California, Berkley. He performed post-doctoral work at the University of Toronto.

Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering is a nonprofit institution that marshals the expertise of the nation's top engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. It is a member of the National Academies, which also includes the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council

The National Academies operate under a law signed in 1863 by President Lincoln. Under this charter, the academy is directed "whenever called upon by any department or agency of the government, to investigate, examine, experiment and report upon any subject of science or art."

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