Biography of donald keck
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For his work with photonics, Keck was honored with Laurin Publishing's Distinction in Photonics Award in 2002. After visiting several companies and government labs, Keck took a position at Corning Inc. in 1968 working with Robert Maurer.
After receiving his Ph.D., Keck accepted an offer from Corning, moved to New York, and began work as a senior research scientist on the project in January 1968.
As a result, he received his B.S. in physics in 1962 and his M.S. in physics in 1964, both from Michigan State. He has two adult children, both of whom are also involved in technological fields: Lynne Vaia, a civil engineer, and Brian Keck, a software expert.
Career
Instead of trying to improve upon existing fibers by using better raw materials, Corning's Optical WaveGuide Project team sought to explore the capabilities of new materials, including pure silica.
They experimented with different glass compositions and methods of heating the glass.
An active and curious child, he participated in the Boy Scouts program throughout his early years. Throughout his career, he served the company in numerous capacities, and at the time of his retirement he held the position of Vice President and Director of Research. Their work helped establish optical fiber, rather than copper, as the key conduit to transmit information.
Keck became vice president and executive director of research at Corning, Inc.
where he worked until his retirement in 2002. As a senior research scientist for Corning, Dr. Keck, along with Robert D. Maurer and Peter C. Schultz, designed the first optical fiber with optical losses low enough for wide use in telecommunications, effectively launching the modern fiber optics industry.
Keck spent the entirety of his professional career at Corning, where he eventually held the position of Vice President and Technology Director of Optical Physics, during which time he guided the company into the field of photonics.
Keck grew up in Lansing, Michigan and attended Michigan State University, after which he joined Corning Incorporated’s research department.
By 1979, Corning was mass-producing the refined optical fiber invented by Keck in Wilmington, North Carolina. After graduating, he enrolled at Michigan State University (MSU), USA, and was going to study electrical engineering.
In 2000, he received the National Medal of Technology in recognition for his work with Robert Maurer and Peter Schultz.
Donald B. Keck
OSA Honorary Member Donald Keck was born in Lansing, Michigan, USA, in 1941. Their award citation read: "Their invention has enabled the telecommunications revolution, rapidly transformed our society, the way we work, learn and live – and our expectations for the future.
He joined Corning as a research physicist in 1968. He went on to become vice president and executive director of research until his retirement in 2002. He is also a recipient of the Department of Commerce American Innovator Award and the SPIE Technology Achievement Award. The key was restricting light loss to 20 decibels per kilometer (at least one percent of the light entering a fiber remains after traveling one kilometer).
Keck and his wife, Ruth Keck, currently reside in Big Flats, New York, outside of Corning, New York. However, a conversation with his father regarding the narrow nature of electrical engineering caused Keck to change his major to physics. Within a year, the collaborative work of Keck, Maurer and Peter Schultz would make essential contributions to fiber optics.
In a series of experiments, the researchers found that adding titanium to fused silica strengthened the glass fiber and enhanced its optical properties.