HomeDate: 2026-05-13
Academician Young-Kai Chen passed away in the United States on May 1, 2026, at the age of 73.
Academician Chen was an internationally renowned scholar in high-speed semiconductor optoelectronics, wireless integrated circuits, and communication technologies. He made important contributions to the understanding of compound semiconductor optoelectronic device physics and to the development of high-speed devices. The high-speed semiconductor lasers and integrated circuit devices he developed have been widely applied in modern communications, data networking systems, and wireless mobile communication technologies.
Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1988. He subsequently joined Bell Laboratories, where he worked for nearly three decades and held a number of senior leadership positions in communications science, silicon photonics, digital switching, and transmission research. In 2017, he served as a Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Beginning in 2021, he served as Chief Scientist at Coherent Corp. and later assumed senior technology leadership responsibilities within the company. Dr. Chen also participated extensively in research programs organized by Taiwan’s National Science Council, Industrial Technology Research Institute, and several universities. He contributed significantly to the advancement of photonic technologies in Taiwan and provided important guidance for the development and planning of Taiwan’s 2G and 5G wireless communication technologies.
Dr. Chen was elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Fellow of the Optical Society of America. His honors included the IEEE David Sarnoff Award and the Edison Patent Award. He was elected Academician of Academia Sinica in 2016.
