Alan Pak Tao Lau
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaFor developing digital signal processing techniques for optical communication systems.
Alan Pak Tao Lau believes everyone can have a slice of the optical communications pie. The field can be a home for people who work in laser physics, optoelectronic devices, telecom systems design, communication theory, nonlinear optics, and so many more areas, with researchers ranging from pure theoreticians to pure experimentalists. He recalls attending OFC early on in his career and talking with a senior colleague about just how big the field was—and how small he felt. The senior colleague felt the same. As Alan grew into his career, he learned that this is precisely the benefit. With so many interesting pieces, the optics pie has a flavor for all.
Alan’s specific area is analytical modeling of signal propagation in fibers and digital signal processing for optical communications. He has always been interested in math and now gets to work on the more theoretical side of the area. In his undergraduate and master's work, he was focused on wireless communications. He reflects that he worked with rigorous mathematics back then, laying the foundation for his future research. After his master’s thesis, he joined an optical communications lab for his PhD work. Alan’s wireless background was advantageous as the optical communications area was emerging and making big leaps forward technologically. He was able to identify how wireless technology related to optical communications, giving him unique insights. He was in the right place at the right time, had the right background, and found a rewarding research area.
Around 20 years ago, optical hardware advanced to a level that enabled the encoding of more complex information into the signals. This meant that “fancier” algorithms needed to be developed to convert those more complex signals into information. This, in particular, is what Alan’s wireless background informed. He shares, “Another part of this big picture is to have a deeper analysis of how your signals interact with different transmission impairments in fibers so that you can know what exactly to do appropriately at the receiver to undo them, which involves what we call modeling.”
Today, his work has expanded to encompass machine learning and its applications to optical communications and networks. This relatively recent addition to Alan’s research is driving the field to grow. He frequently gives talks on machine learning applications in optical communications and networks and enjoys pushing the field further through his research. In addition, optical communications are no longer only about long-distance transmission. Optical communications increasingly enable faster connections for data centers or short-reach connections.
In his theoretical research, Alan enjoys seeing his equations turn into actions. Sometimes, there are unexplained phenomena following an experiment, and with some hard work and creative thinking, an equation emerges that explains a piece of the puzzle. Other times, Alan and his team will play with an equation and reveal a phenomenon that works in an experiment. The wonderful surprise of a discovery makes all the hard work worth it. Alan shares, “Working in such a mature area as telecom, it can feel rare to make discoveries, yet sometimes Nature still has something reserved for herself.”
Outside of work, Alan enjoys playing music. He grew up primarily playing the piano and trained as a classical musician. In high school, he picked up other instruments outside of classical piano, venturing into pop and jazz via the saxophone, bass, and flute. Today, he still plays the piano, recently performing a piece at a department event, and he is teaching his children how to play. Alan reflects, “As we age, I think we get to appreciate more about art and culture and its special place and importance in our lives. I will continue making sure music stays as part of my life.”
Photo courtesy of Alan Pak Tao Lau
Profile written by Samantha Hornback
