The IEEE Photonics Society’s Board of Governors is proud to announce that Aref Chowdhury, Ph.D., Vice President of Strategy and CTO of Network Infrastructure at Nokia, has been appointed as the Vice President (VP) of Professional & Technical Development for the term of 2024-2026..
Chowdhury received his Bachelor of Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1994 in electrical engineering and applied mathematics and statistics, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. From 1995 to 1997, he worked as a Senior Engineer for Alcatel CIT.
After his Ph.D., he joined the Optical Physics Research Department of Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA as a Member of Technical Staff in 2001. He has pursued research in the areas of nonlinear optics, negative refractive index metamaterials, optical fiber communication, and white LED lighting. From 2008 to 2010, he served as Senior Manager of Intellectual Property and Standards. Since 2016, Chowdhury has served as a CTO.
As VP of Professional and Technical Development (PTD), Chowdhury will serve as the chair of the PTD Council responsible for: creating professional development programs; enhancing career services; identifying opportunities for industry professionals to engage in volunteering; and distinguishing emerging areas of technical and industrial interest. The Committees that report through this VP position and Council are: Industry Engagement; Standards; Emerging Technologies; Young Professionals; and Professional Advancement.
Please join us in welcoming Aref Chowdhury to this pivotal role, where his wealth of experience and dedication to research, standards and business development in photonics will undoubtedly contribute to the continued success of the IEEE Photonics Society.
