Yasuharu Suematsu

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{{Infobox scientist

| name = Yasuharu Suematsu

| image = Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu.jpg

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| caption = Portrait of Yasuharu Suematsu (2006)

| birth_date = {{b-da|September 22, 1932}}The Japan Prize Foundation: [http://www.japanprize.jp/en/prize_prof_2014_suematsu.html Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu.] Dated 2014, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140301040846/http://www.japanprize.jp/en/prize_prof_2014_suematsu.html Archived copy at archive.org]{{cite journal|title=Analysis of novel resonant electron transfer triode device using metal-insulator superlattice for high speed response|journal=IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics|date=September 1986|volume=QE-22|issue=9|pages=1880–1886|doi=10.1109/JQE.1986.1073178|last1=Nakata |first1=Y. |last2=Asada |first2=M. |last3=Suematsu |first3=Y. |bibcode=1986IJQE...22.1880N }}

| birth_place = Gifu, Japan

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| nationality = Japanese

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| fields = Optical communications

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| alma_mater = Tokyo Institute of Technology

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| notable_students = Yoshihisa YamamotoYoshihisa Yamamoto: Curriculum Vitae. Dated January 2005. [http://appliedphysics.stanford.edu/cv/Yamamoto.pdf Original at stanford.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718210850/http://appliedphysics.stanford.edu/cv/Yamamoto.pdf |date=July 18, 2010 }},

| known_for = Contributing to the development of optical fiber communication

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| awards = 2015 The Order of Culture, from the Emperor of Japan.

2014 Japan Prize

2003 IEEE James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal[https://web.archive.org/web/20100408000105/http://www.ieee.org/about/awards/bios/education_recipients.html IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal Recipients], [https://web.archive.org/web/20100408000105/http://www.ieee.org/about/awards/bios/education_recipients.html Archived copy at archive.org]

1996 Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon

1994 C&C Prize

1994 John Tyndall Award

1986 IEEE David Sarnoff Award

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{{nihongo|Yasuharu Suematsu|末松安晴|Suematsu Yasuharu|born September 22, 1932}} is a Japanese electrical engineer whose work has been associated with developments in optical fiber communication technology. His research on dynamic single-mode lasers has been cited in several academic and technical studies. Suematsu holds the position of professor emeritus at the Institute of Science Tokyo.

Life

Yasuharu Suematsu was born on September 22, 1932, in Gifu, Japan. He received his B.S. (1955) and Ph.D. (1960) from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Afterwards, he joined the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology as a professor. In 1989, he was appointed president of the university, a position he held until 1993, when he became the inauguralKochi University of Technology: [http://www.kochi-tech.ac.jp/kut_E/topics.htm?id=54 Congratulating Professor Emeritus Yasuharu Suematsu on winning the Japan Prize.] Dated January 31, 2014, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140328183331/http://www.kochi-tech.ac.jp/kut_E/topics.htm?id=54 Archived copy at archive.org] president of Kochi University of Technology and also served as Director General of the National Institute of Informatics. During the same year, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (US) with the citation "For contributions to the understanding and development of optical fibers, high-performance semiconductor lasers, and integrated optoelectronics".{{Cite web |date=January 18, 2025 |title=Dr. Yasuharu Suematsu |url=https://www.nae.edu/29976/Dr-Yasuharu-Suematsu |url-status=live |publisher=National Academy of Engineering |place=500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC |language=en}}

He is a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering, a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, an Optica Fellow and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.{{Cite web |title=Yasuharu Suematsu {{!}} Optica |url=https://www.optica.org/history/biographies/bios/yasuharu_suematsu/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.optica.org}}

He has authored at least 19 books and more than 260 scientific papers.

Research

Professor Suematsu is best known for his contributions to the development of optical fiber communication. He developed semiconductor lasers which even under high-speed modulation produce light at a stable wavelength that coincides with the wavelength region where the optical losses of fibers reach their minimum.The Japan Prize Foundation: [http://www.japanprize.jp/data/prize/2014/e_1_achievements.pdf Pioneering research on semiconductor lasers for high-capacity, long-distance optical fiber communication], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140328180918/http://www.japanprize.jp/data/prize/2014/e_1_achievements.pdf Archived copy at archive.org]

File:Fig.1.Replica of the earliest demonstration of optical fiber communication experiment.jpg

Social contribution by research

Optical fiber communications make up a highly dense communications network circling the globe tens of thousands of times and are also used in applications such as middle-distance Ethernets. Additionally, DSM{{Cite journal |last=Suematsu |first=Yasuharu |date=2014-03-15 |title=Dynamic Single-Mode Lasers |url=https://opg.optica.org/jlt/abstract.cfm?uri=jlt-32-6-1144 |url-access=subscription |journal=Journal of Lightwave Technology |language=EN |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=1144–1158|doi=10.1109/JLT.2013.2293817 |bibcode=2014JLwT...32.1144S |s2cid=31634729 }} lasers in the band of 1.5 micrometers are used for optical lines from the exchange centre to the home in FTTH. The transmission performance of fiber represented a byproduct of the transmission capacity, and the distance has been increased yearly exponentially, as shown in Fig. 9.