Prize Recipient


Recipient Picture

Christopher Panuski
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Citation:

"For extraordinary work that has significantly advanced the field of optics, precision measurement, and electro-optic device; in particular, such research accomplishments are milestones on the road to the control and measurement of complex optical fields."

Background:

Christopher Panuski received bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the United States Naval Academy in 2017, a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2019, and a PhD in EECS from MIT in 2022. At the Naval Academy, he developed collaborations with the Naval Research Laboratory, MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, and the DoD Cyber Crime Center. His work – ranging from radar signal processing to digital image reconstruction and optical sensing – led to various awards including the Hertz Fellowship, MIT Presidential Fellowship, and Stamps Leadership Scholarship. Following graduation, he joined MIT’s Quantum Photonics Group to explore high-speed programmable optics for beamforming, communications, and precision sensing. The results of these investigations – including the development of gigahertz-rate spatial light modulators, open-source holography software, and a new class of wavelength-scale optical sensors operating at their fundamental noise limits – formed his doctoral thesis. Chris is now a cryptologist in the US Navy, where he aspires to combine operational experience with technical expertise to solve complex national security issues.