Charles K. Kao was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication." This memoir chronicles his personal and scientific odyssey from his an unfathomable childhood in war-torn Shanghai and Hong Kong to his seminal work with glass fibers. Kao shares his experiences as vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and muses on his legacy as the "father of fiber optics." His groundbreaking research (based in part on the discovery that signal loss in fiber cables was a direct result of glass impurities rather than technology flaws) laid the groundwork for our present day communication infrastructure.


Born in Shanghai in 1933, Charles K. Kao moved to Hong Kong in 1948, eventually joining the staff at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He founded the university’s Department of Electronics (later the Department of Electronic Engineering) in 1970 and taught for many years before serving as vice-chancellor. He has won many additional awards and distinctions.