2024 IEEE Edison Medal recipient and Panelist on Evolution & Future of Network Technologies
Vincent Chan is the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Professor of EECS and a faculty of the Artificial Intelligence & Decision Making Sector of the Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, MIT, received his BS(71), MS(71), EE(72), and Ph.D.(74) degrees in EE from MIT. From 1974 to 1977. He was an assistant EE professor at Cornell University. He joined MIT Lincoln Laboratory in 1977 and had been Division Head of the Communications and Information Technology Division (the combined Communication and Computer Science Division) until becoming the Director of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (1999–2007). In July 1983, he initiated the US Government’s Laser Intersatellite Transmission Experiment Program and the follow-on GeoLITE Program. In 1989, he used the first “Dual-Use Technology Investment” by the Clinton Administration to form (and served as Chair), under the “Other Transaction Authority,” the All-Optical-Network Consortium among MIT, AT&T and DEC, the Next Generation Internet Consortium, ONRAMP among AT&T, Cabletron, MIT, Nortel and JDS (now United Technologies), and a Satellite Networking Research Consortium formed between MIT, Motorola, Teledesic and Globalstar (a precursor to some of the current low earth orbit commercial satellite ventures). He chaired the Defense Science Board Task Force on Defense Communications, Networks and Satellite Communications and the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee. He also has been active with start-ups and was a Board Member and chair of the Technical Advisory Board of a Fortune-500 network company and a member of the Draper Corporation. After chairing the Strategic Planning Committee of ComSoc from 2018-2019, he served as the President of the IEEE Communication Society for 2020 and 2021. His research focus is on optical networks cognitive heterogeneous network management and control, resiliency and security.
He is a Life Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of the Optica.