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45th ECOC conference taking place in Dublin

45th ECOC conference taking place in Dublin

The 45th edition of the European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communications begins in the RDS in Dublin this Sunday, September 22nd.

It is the oldest and most prestigious conference covering the transmission of information using light and is the first time it has been held in Dublin.  ECOC is expected to attract over 8000 optical communications professionals and industry experts over its five days.

The conference will report the latest progress in optical communication technologies in workshops, selected papers, demo sessions, keynotes and special symposia. The workshops on Sunday will allow delegates to discuss some of the really hot topics in Optical Communications such as Machine Learning, Integrated Photonics, Next Generation Optical Access Networks and Photonics for 5G systems. 

There will also be a plenary session which will feature Katharine Schmidtke, Sourcing Manager, Optical Technology Strategy at Facebook, Dr Chih-Lin I, China Mobile’s Chief Scientist and Prof. Tim Whitley, Managing Director, Research and Innovation at BT.

Prof. Liam Barry from the School of Electronic Engineering in Dublin City University is the general co-chair of the conference.  He said:

“We are delighted to welcome The European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communications to Dublin for the first time. It is the oldest conference dealing with the transmission of information using light. ECOC 2019 will have the usual mix of an exciting technical programme in which the delegates will hear the latest cutting-edge developments in photonic systems and optical communications, with a social programme that allows attendees the chance to experience the culture, history and legendary entertainment of Dublin.

Parallel to the scientific conference, the ECOC exhibition covers a wide range of optical communication products and services.”

Prof. Paul Townsend, Head of Photonics at Tyndall National Institute, Director of  the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC) and fellow co-chair of  ECOC 2019 added:

“ECOC is one of the highlights of the annual international optical communications research calendar and it is a testament to the health and vibrancy of the Irish communications research and industry ecosystem that we were able to attract the conference to Ireland for the first time in its prestigious 45 year history. ECOC will provide an exciting opportunity for researchers from our universities and associated SFI research centres IPIC, CONNECT and AMBER to showcase their work on the world stage.

In addition, the 350 strong industry exhibition will provide Irish companies with a superb platform to introduce their latest products to customers from around the globe”.  

Full details of the conference are here.

About Prof. Liam Barry

Liam Barry is a Full Professor of Electronic Engineering in Dublin City University.  He received his PhD Degree from the University of Rennes in France after working with France Telecom Research Labs. He began lecturing with the School of Electronic Engineering in DCU in 1998 and established the Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory.  He is currently a Principal Investigator for Science Foundation Ireland and Director of the Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory.

About Prof. Paul Townsend

Paul Townsend is Head of Photonics at the Tyndall National Institute, Director of the IPIC SFI Research Centre in Photonics and Professor of Photonic Systems Research in the Department of Physics at University College Cork. Before coming to Ireland in 2003, he spent 16 years working at leading international communications research laboratories including Bell Communications Research in the USA, and BT and Corning in the UK.