Yannick has been working since 2004 under the direction of Professor Raman Kashyap at the Canada Research Chair in Future Photonics Systems, conducting research into high-bitrate optical-fibre transmission.

His goal is to enhance the quality and rate of data transmission in telecommunications links using an optical-error correction method and correction for polarization effects. Such enhancements to the speed of telecommunications links would be a cost-effective way to boost the speed of the Internet. The applications of the results of this research include real-time viewing of high-definition movies over the Internet, instant video-on-demand, and low-cost telemedicine.

Yannick received the SPIE scholarship in recognition of his scientific achievements of the past year, which included publication of several papers on silicon nanowires, test beds for long-distance transmissions, and emulation of polarization dispersion in optical fibres.

The scholarship will be officially presented during Optics & Photonics Week, being held as part of the SPIE 50th Annual Meeting: Celebrating 50 Yeas of Excellence, from July 31 to August 4, 2005, in San Diego, California.

Congratulations, Yannick!