Robert D. Maurer, alumnus of the Department of Physics, was an industrial physicist noted for his leadership in the invention of optical fiber. He passed away at the age of 101 on September 9, 2025, in Eugene, Oregon.

Maurer, a native of Arkadelphia, enrolled at the university in 1943, being inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, the freshman honor society, during his first year. He later pledged the Kappa Alpha fraternity and also served in Company A of the Army ROTC on campus before being called up for service during World War II. While serving in the 99th Infantry Division along the German border, he was severely wounded by a landmine and spent 20 months in convalescence before being awarded the Purple Heart.

Maurer returned to the U of A after the war and received his B.S. degree in physics, with high honors, in 1948 and went to graduate school at M.I.T., receiving his Ph.D. in physics only three years later.

Robert D. Maurer as a senior at the University of Arkansas, 1948.

He then joined the research staff at Corning Glass Works in Corning, New York, in 1952, where he remained, becoming a senior research fellow, manager of applied physics, and manager of special projects.

As the company's first research fellow, he was the lead scientist on the team that produced the first optical fiber for telecommunications — an accomplishment and discovery that propelled both Corning and the world into a new era, changed global communications forever and laid the foundation for the fiber networks we depend on today.

His research into the properties of very pure glasses led to the development of optical waveguides. These permit the transmission of information normally carried by electrical signals along wires, but with the wires replaced by very thin glass fibers, and light pulses replacing the electrical current.

Further refinement of the process cemented both his and Corning's leadership in creating this new technology and resulted in multiple well-deserved awards and recognition for Maurer, including receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the U of A in 1980.

Robert Maurer, center, with colleagues Donald Keck and Peter Schultz at Corning Glass Corp. (Corning Inc.)

"We are proud of Dr. Maurer's association with the Department of Physics as an alumnus," said its chair, Julia Kennefick. "His contributions to science and technology through fiber optic telecommunications continue to benefit our society." 

Kennefick said Maurer also gave back significantly to the department by creating an endowment that provides funds in perpetuity for both scholarships and lecture series that bear his name.

"His generous support of the department over the years lead to the establishment of the Robert Maurer Research Fund, which has allowed us to expand educational opportunities for our students, pursue scientific outreach to the community at large, support faculty research, and many other activities that we otherwise would not be able to do," she added.

Maurer's additional notable honors included an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and receiving the first ever John Tyndall Award for Industrial Applications of Physics from the American Institute of Physics.

He also received the L.M. Ericsson International Prize for Telecommunications, awarded by the Swedish Academy of Engineering, as well as the George Morey Award of the American Ceramic Society, and the Morris N. Liebmann Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

"Robert D. Maurer is truly the father of the optical fiber," said Roland W. Schmitt, then president of the Industrial Research Institute on the occasion of presenting Maurer with the Institute's Achievement Award for 1986.

Maurer retired from Corning in 1989 but remained an active consultant to the group he formerly directed for years and was a resident of Painted Post, NY from 1952-2003.

He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara, and is survived by two sons, one daughter, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

More information and memories can be shared online.