Marvell CTO receives David Richardson Medal from Optica
The award recognises Radhakrishnan Nagarajan’s successful commercialisation of PICs for use as optical interconnects
Marvell Technology has announced that its CTO, Radhakrishnan ("Radha") Nagarajan, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the David Richardson Medal by Optica. He is honoured for the successful manufacturing and commercialisation of indium phosphide- and silicon-based photonic integrated circuits for use as optical interconnects with a wide range of applications.
In making the selection, Optica notes that Nagarajan is “an insightful engineer and outstanding innovator and mentor” and mentions his “ability to move from concept to commercialisation and deployment continues to have a profound impact” on the industry. Established in 1966, the Richardson Medal recognises significant contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and industrial sector. It honours David Richardson's unique contributions to applied optics.
“Congratulations to Radha on receiving the 2024 Richardson Medal. His leadership and vision are advancing optical engineering to new heights,” said Gerd Leuchs, Optica's 2024 President.
“I'm honoured to receive this year's David Richardson Medal and thank Optica for this award,” said Nagarajan. “Driven by AI and datacentre infrastructure changes, the pace of innovation in optical technology is accelerating and it's exciting to be on the frontlines.”
“I am so pleased that Radha has been honoured with this award, which he truly deserves,” said Matt Murphy, chairman and CEO of Marvell. “His expertise and work have made a tremendous difference at Marvell as we've innovated and pushed the boundaries of what people thought was possible in the realms of optical engineering and photonics. Like his remarkable peers who have been recognised with the David Richardson Medal in the past, Radha is a visionary leader and giant in his field, and I believe his impact will endure for many years to come.”
Nagarajan serves as senior vice president and chief technology officer of optical platforms at Marvell, managing the development of the company's optical platform technology and products. He joined Marvell from Inphi, where he was senior vice president and chief technology officer of platforms, and prior to this, a fellow at Infinera.
Nagarajan has been awarded 245 US patents and is a fellow of the IEEE, Optica, and IET (UK). In 2006, he was awarded the IEEE/LEOS Aron Kressel Award and in 2022, the IPRM (Indium Phosphide and Related Materials) Award, in recognition of breakthrough work in the development and manufacturing of large-scale photonic integrated circuits. In 2023, he was named to Electro Optics' The Photonics100 2024 which honours the industry's most innovative people.
