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| In Memoriam: Academician Ping King Tien (1919-2017) |
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Dr. Ping King Tien, renowned inventor and scientist noted for his engineering contributions to microwave amplifiers and integrated optical circuits and devices, passed away on December 27, 2017 in the United States. He was 98 years old.
An internationally esteemed pioneer in integrated microelectronics and integrated optics, Dr. Ping King Tien has been hailed as the “father of integrated optics.” While pursuing his doctoral degree at the Stanford University in the United States, he invented the microwave amplification a new element, the “space charge wave amplifier.” His innovative discovery was published in the Proceeding of the IRE, Volume 40 in 1952. Dr. Tien’s invention was considered one of the major scientific research achievements made by overseas Chinese students studying in the United States at the time.
Throughout his distinguished academic career, Dr. Tien had made numerous breakthrough discoveries, garnering various accolades. He has published many research papers and obtained more than thirty U.S. patents. These papers and patents have made remarkable contributions to the fields of microwave theory and technology, material science and engineering, radio propagation, noise theory, ferromagnetics, superconductors, acoustoelectric effects, laser physics, integrated optics, and high-speed electronics and systems
Besides his cutting-edge innovations, Dr. Tien is also a venerable educator, devoting considerable time and effort to educating young scientists. He has made significant contributions to the development of higher education in Taiwan. In the 1960s, the National Taiwan University (NTU) was developing and expanding its Department of Electrical Engineering. Professor Zhao Xu, the department chair at the time, was responsible for raising funds and support for the department. Many NTU alumni offered their support, and Dr. Tien was among these distinguished alumni. At that time, Dr. Tien worked at the Bell Laboratories. He donated thirty instruments from his lab to the Department of Electrical Engineering so that young students can have the opportunity to work with state of the art equipment.
For his revolutionary innovations and contributions, Dr. Tien was elected as the second Chinese academician of the National Academy of Engineering in 1975 and as a lifetime member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1978. In 1988, he was also elected as an Academician of Academia Sinica.
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