Pioneer in Optical Fibers, Donald Keck, to Present at Robert D. Maurer Lecture

Donald B. Keck, one of the pioneers in optical fiber communications, has been selected as the University of Arkansas' 2026 Robert D. Maurer Distinguished Lecturer, hosted by the Department of Physics in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Keck will present "Through A Glass Brightly: REFLECTIONS" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 in Hillside Auditorium 0202. His talk is free and open to the public.

"We are excited to host Dr. Keck on our campus. His work demonstrates that fundamental science matters. Through careful study of light-matter interactions, his co-invention of low-loss fiber optic cable led to the foundation of the digital age, comprising the infrastructure that now carries the world's internet traffic," said Julia Kennefick, chair of the Department of Physics. "His story will be an inspiration to our faculty and students."

Keck is currently a professor in the University of South Florida Institute for Advanced Discovery and Innovation and was previously the vice president and executive director of research at Corning Inc. He has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University. After graduating from MSU, he took a position at Corning in 1968 working with Robert Maurer. Working collaboratively with Maurer and Peter Schultz over the next two years, he made seminal contributions to fiber optics. Inventing a series of material and processing concepts, they were able to improve the transparency of fused silica and doped fused silica glasses by 100 orders of magnitude. This enabled optical communications and established optical fiber rather than copper wire as the key communication conduit. Their work enabled the Internet. More than 7 billion kilometers of optical fiber based on their inventions encircle the planet. Keck is recognized as a pioneer in optical fiber communications for this work.

Keck holds 38 patents and has authored more than 150 papers on optical fibers and related topics. Keck is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton; inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame; and received the John Tyndall Award from The Optical Society (OSA) and IEEE/Photonics Society; U.S. Department of Commerce American Innovator Award; SPIE Technology Achievement Award; and Laurin Publishing's Distinction in Photonics Award. He received an honorary doctorate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is an honorary member of OSA, and a fellow of the IEEE. He served as editor of the IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology and has generously donated his time to the OSA community.

Those interested in learning more about optical fibers that led to the foundation of the digital age are encouraged to attend the lecture on Tuesday, April 14th, and visit the Department of Physics website.

About the Maurer Distinguished Lecture Series: The Maurer Distinguished Lecture Series began in 1995 in honor of Robert D. Maurer, distinguished alumnus of the Department of Physics. A native of Arkadelphia, Maurer received a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Arkansas in 1980.