He helps drive Ciena’s strategy and innovation in AI interconnect architectures. Peter joined Ciena as part of the acquisition of Nubis Communications, the company he founded to advance highly integrated, massively parallel optical and electrical communication interfaces. Before founding Nubis, he spent many years at Bell Labs, where he set multiple high-speed optical transmission records, contributed to major optical product developments, and led fiber-optic transmission research. He has published over 500 scientific papers, holds more than 100 granted patents, and has received numerous accolades, including the John Tyndall Award. Peter is a Bell Labs Fellow, a Fellow of IEEE, Optica, and the US National Academy of Inventors, and is a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering. He holds an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Eindhoven. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lightwave Technology, Program Chair of ECOC, and Program/General Chair of OFC. Peter earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna.

As EVP and chief architect of imec’s research direction, Patrick has been responsible for shaping and driving the center’s innovation agenda, ensuring alignment between research initiatives, market needs, and partner priorities. His appointment as CEO underpins imec’s commitment to addressing market-driven application challenges while advancing its technology platforms. Patrick holds a PhD from KU Leuven and began his career at imec in 1996. In 2000, he transitioned to entrepreneurship, founding and leading several deep-tech ventures. He held senior positions at leading semiconductor companies, including Qorvo and Hisilicon/Huawei. His efforts resulted in 11 product launches and more than 100 million units shipped. Returning to imec in 2017, Patrick played a key role in scaling the R&D center’s venturing activities, before stepping into his current leadership positions.

He leads the development of large-scale photonic quantum computing hardware. He has more than 25 years of experience in photonics and quantum technologies, spanning research, industrial innovation, and system-scale engineering. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has held senior roles in both industry and academia, including positions at Toshiba, Corning, and Bookham Technology. He is Professor of Quantum Photonics at the University of Bristol and previously a Fellow of the University of Cambridge. Prof. Thompson founded the Bristol Centre for Quantum Engineering and the Bristol Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre, helping to establish the UK as a leader in quantum technologies. He has authored more than 200 publications and patents, received prestigious UK and European awards, and co-founded two quantum technology startups.

He leads the team that have pioneered a technological revolution in optical interconnects for data centers, with speeds spanning 25 to 400 Gbps per lane. He oversees the architectural and system design of the solution, defining critical design requirements for core components. He has also made outstanding contributions to IEEE, OIF, IPEC and other industry organizations—championing the development of international standards for short-reach interconnects, and actively participating in premier international conferences including ECOC and OFC to advance the collaborative evolution of cutting-edge industrial technologies. His team is dedicated to technical research and innovation across diverse optoelectronic fields and related application. With over 20 years of expertise in optical communications, Dr. Man holds a PhD from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from Nankai University.