Faculty Insight Electronics and photonics specialist Prof. Kei May Lau sees choosing a research subject as similar to predicting the future. 12 IN FOCUS has developed can be incorporated into a pair of smart glasses with a connected camera to o er a rear view or to your mobile phone. She has also used her expertise to investigate transistors and lasers. “Choosing a research topic to focus on is a bit like predicting the future. Some predictions come through, many others don’t,” Prof. Lau said. “When conducting engineering research, we want to do something people care about and that will pan out. The most challenging part is coming up with visionary ideas. The timing of getting into a new topic is critical as well.” Where LEDs were concerned, she “bought into the idea as I thought it made sense”, she said. “You can say my timing was good.” In addition, innovation and experience are intrinsic elements of technology breakthroughs, she noted. “I always tell s one of the few women working at the highest echelons of electronics and photonics technology, Prof. Kei May LAU, Chair Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, has been a pioneer in a host of ways during her high-flying years at the School of Engineering. In recognition of her groundbreaking basic research into compound semiconductor materials and device physics, Prof. Lau recently became the rst female engineer to receive the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s J. J. Thomson Medal for Electronics in the award’s -year history. A major area of such research has been related to light-emitting diode (LED) technology, to which she has been an on-going contributor since the s. At that time, white LEDs appeared to o er a novel power-saving potential alternative to heat-emitting incandescent light bulbs and mercury-enabled fluorescent lights. Now, thanks to the continuous advances of Prof. Lau and other engineers taking development forward, LEDs are ubiquitously used for illumination in essentially all sectors, from household to commercial lamps, aviation lighting to horticultural grow lights. Describing the attraction of a career in engineering, Prof. Lau said that unlike scientists whose role was to explore and attempt to explain natural phenomena, engineers seek to create practical applications that can bene t humanity, taking into consideration performance as well as cost in their designs. To sum up this view, she coined the term “ecotronics” to describe research on electronics for ecology and economy. “I love to see things work instead of solving equations or building models using simulations only,” she said. Among the early researchers on-board with LED technology, Prof. Lau started focusing on its miniaturization years ago. She has developed high-resolution ngernail-sized LED micro-display chips that could be used to build three-in-one tra c lights or virtual windows, and micro-displays for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), among other applications. Meanwhile, a near-to-eye micro-display she Prof. Kei May Lau, the rst woman engineer to win the J. J.Thomson Medal for Electronics, discusses how a passion for seeing novel devices work and a determination to choose her own destiny have helped her succeed A Choices, timing, and options
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