Presented by: Chairman Martin Meyerson of The Marconi Foundation; President John Jay Iselin of that foundation at Columbia University, New York City.

In his 40-year career at Bell Laboratories, Kogelnik has made fundamental contributions to developments in laser technology, optoelectronics, photonics and lightwave communications systems. In a series of papers in the early 1960s, he developed the theory of stable optical resonators, which has been fundamental to laser developments ever since. He then turned to the applications of holograms to optical systems, developing with some of his colleagues the basic theory of thick holograms that led to the development of a whole range of optical components, including filters and couplers to integrated optical devices. His innovation was the beginning of the “distributed feedback laser,” which has turned out to be of absolutely critical importance to the development of optical telecommunications. Born in Austria and educated there and in England, Kogelnik is the recipient this year of the prestigious Medal of Honor from the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. He holds 35 patents.