Keren Bergman, the Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia Engineering, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the C.E.K. Mees Medal, Optica announced today.
Bergman is recognized for her pioneering research on optical interconnects and photonic architectures for high-performance computing. She currently serves as the faculty director of the Columbia Nano Initiative and leads Columbia’s Lightwave Research Laboratory, where she oversees multiple research programs on optical interconnection networks for advanced computing systems, data centers, optical packet-switched routers, and nanophotonic networks-on-chip for chip multiprocessors.
Her work focuses on developing a new class of nanoscale photonic interconnect technologies that seamlessly transfer data across chip networks, memory systems, and large-scale computing platforms with extreme energy efficiency. These innovations, enabled by nanophotonic interconnectivity and dense wavelength division multiplexing, are poised to transform computational and communication architectures, addressing the increasing demand for high-speed data processing at all scales.
Bergman earned her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Bucknell University and a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT. She is a fellow of Optica and IEEE and a recipient of the IEEE Photonics Engineering Award.
Established in 1961, the C.E.K. Mees Medal honors an original use of optics across multiple fields. It commemorates C.E.K. Mees, a pioneer in scientific photography and a founding member of Optica. The medal was endowed by the Mees family. Founded in 1916, Optica is a leading organization dedicated to advancing optics and photonics worldwide. The group promotes the generation, application, and dissemination of knowledge in the field through its publications, conferences, and educational initiatives.
