Thomas Hanson Chosen to Receive 2009 IEC Lord Kelvin Award
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has announced that American Thomas Hanson is one of three recipients of the 2009 IEC Lord Kelvin Award. This distinct honor is given annually to members of the IEC community for their outstanding contributions to global electrotechnical standardization.
Mr. Hanson is being recognized as an active contributor to IEC work for over 25 years in the telecommunications sector for optical communications. He has served as an author, project leader, and convenor for numerous groups dealing with optical fibers, cables, and systems. His efforts have contributed to much of the work done in one of the IEC's most prolific committees, IEC TC (Technical Committee) 86, Fibre optics.
As one of the world's experts in fiber optics for strength and fatigue and Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD), Mr. Hanson has contributed to the development of important models and algorithms that have been incorporated into IEC Standards to address issues faced by the fiber optics industry. He has also authored or contributed to many of the optical-communications-related International Standards, test methods, specifications, and technical reports developed by IEC Technical Committee (TC) 86 and Subcommittee (SC) 86A, Fibre and cables, including many of the IEC 60793 and IEC 60794 series.
Mr. Hanson served as the convenor of IEC SC 86C/WG (Working Group) 1, Fibre optic communications systems and sub-systems. In this role he has helped bridge the interface between the IEC community of manufacturers and the external groups of users. He has ensured that all his committee work is representative of all stakeholders, resulting in a true consensus. And he has served as a key liaison between IEC and corresponding work in the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), facilitating cooperation and coordination of efforts on an international level.
Mr. Hanson will be honored with the Lord Kelvin Award at the upcoming IEC meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October. For more information on Mr. Hanson and the other winners of the 2009 Lord Kelvin Award, see the IEC news release.
