The IEEE Photonics Award was established in 2002. The award is presented for outstanding achievements in photonics. It may be presented to an individual or a team of not more than three. Photonics is defined as the science and technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. It is awarded for, but not limited to: light-generation, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection and the optical/electro-optical compo entry and instrumentation used to accomplish these functions. Also included are storage technologies utilizing photonics to read or write data and optical display technologies. It also extends from energy generation/propagation, communications, information processing, storage and display, biomedical and medical uses of light and measurement applications. Recipient selection is administered by the Technical Field Awards Council of the IEEE Awards Board.

Joe Charles Campbell is a leading innovator in the field of photonics for his role in the development of laser light detectors used in fiber optics systems in telephone and other telecommunication systems to receive voice and data over fiber optics. Dr. Campbell is recognized for his significant contributions in high-speed, low-noise avalanche photodiodes (APDs), which have led to key advancements in this field. Dr. Campbell’s avalanche photodiodes are able to convert pulses of light into electrical information during long distance telecommunications at high speeds with very low distortion or noise. He is currently a Lucien Carr Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. An IEEE Fellow, he has co-authored eight book chapters, 330 articles for refereed technical journals and more than 300 conference presentations. Dr. Campbell has previously received the IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE William Streifer Achievement Award from the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, the Nicholas Holonyak Award from the Optical Society of America, AT&T Bell Laboratories Distinguished Member Award, and was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Campbell received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin, and his Master of Science and Doctorate degrees in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.