Aref Chowdhury: 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award recipient

PhDEE ’01 (BE electrical engineering and applied mathematics and statistics ‘94, Stony Brook University)
Vice President of Strategy and Chief Technology Officer, Network Infrastructure, Nokia

An electrical and computer engineer and visionary leader who has driven the future of communications systems and championed commercial development of optical network technologies.

Aref Chowdhury is a distinguished researcher in nonlinear optics and optical communications and a guiding force in developing and implementing new network technologies at Bell Labs/ network infrastructure at Nokia, where he has worked for the last quarter century.

For his PhD, Chowdhury studied nonlinear optics with Professor Leon McCaughan. The topic, which involves light’s interaction with materials that alter the light’s properties, was not a research strength in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the time. “When I joined Leon’s group, I told him I was dabbling in nonlinear optics and I wanted to do my PhD in it,” remembers Chowdhury. “He said, ‘Okay, we’ll learn this together.’ I could not have asked for a better PhD advisor, and that is a reflection of what Madison is about, for sure.”

Chowdhury did indeed learn nonlinear optics—and his expertise landed him a position as a member of the technical staff in the optical physics research department at the storied Bell Laboratories, now a part of Nokia. He spent seven years conducting basic research, earning an MIT Technology Review young innovator award in 2004.

In 2008, he shifted gears, becoming a senior manager in intellectual property and standards at the company. Over time, his promotions included chief technology officer of optics, and CTO and head of strategy, network infrastructure IP and optical. He is currently vice president of strategy and CTO of network infrastructure.

Chowdhury leads the technological roadmap and strategy for Nokia’s four divisions of network infrastructure, representing $10 billion in business. One of his chief duties is using his deep understanding of communication networks to sift through a wide range of emerging technologies to decide which innovations are worth developing and investing in for his business group.

During his career, Chowdhury has published more than 40 journal and conference papers, and received more than 35 patents and pending patents. He is a fellow of Optica and Bell Labs, among many honors and board memberships.

Chowdhury says UW-Madison truly laid the foundation for his success. “My experience at UW-Madison shaped my career in so many ways,” he says, “whether that’s taking certain courses, the experience with my PhD advisor, or engaging in ongoing discussions with faculty. Those values I learned in my PhD I brought with me to Bell Labs, and I continue that mode of cooperation and intellectual freedom today.”

Which engineering professor made the greatest impact on you?

Besides my advisor, the biggest impact was from Professor John Tataronis and his special topics in nonlinear optics class. I was already doing research in the field, but his class truly laid the foundation for me and gave me a solid understanding of the basics. It’s a very complex area. Reading on your own, you understand things—but he helped us understand what was going on beyond the research. With his class, things became very clear.

What do you enjoy about your career?

In my current role, I’m always dealing with new technologies that will change the future of communications. I’m exposed to everything that’s going on throughout the world in companies, startups, universities and government labs. I get to look at technologies across the board and figure out which ones will actually make it into a commercial product. My job is to make a bet on which ones are the best and which ones we should pursue.

Which do you prefer?

Fun on the Terrace or fun on Lake Mendota?
Terrace.

Engineering Mall or Library Mall?
Engineering.

UW Arboretum or Picnic Point?
Arboretum.

Orange custard chocolate chip, or something else?
Plain old vanilla, or a variant on that.