David V. Plant

David V. Plant is a Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at McGill University, where he leads the Plant Group. His research spans optical communications, silicon photonics, and photonic integrated circuits, with a focus on high-speed data transmission systems for data centers and beyond.

Research Interests:

• Optical Communications: Coherent and direct detection systems, high-capacity WDM links, quantum encryption.
• Silicon Photonics: SiP modulators, receivers, switches, and PICs for next-gen interconnects.
• Data Center Interconnects: Tbps-scale links using TFLN MZMs, QD-MLL combs, and CMOS drivers.
• Microwave Photonics: Reconfigurable filters, optoelectronic oscillators, and signal processors.
• Biomedical Optics: Seismocardiography signal generation and analysis using ML techniques.

Scientific Awards:

• Lumentum Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Scholarship (industrial award)
• The Marconi Society’s 2023 Paul Baran Young Scholar (international award)
• Advanced Photonic Congress SPPCom Best Student Paper Presentation (international award)
• 2023 IEEE Photonics Society Graduate Student Fellowship (international award)
• 2023 SPIE Scholarship in Optics and Photonics (international award)

Supervision & Grants: Prof. Plant has supervised numerous Ph.D., M.Eng., and post-doctoral researchers, including recipients of prestigious awards. His group collaborates with industry leaders like Ericsson, Ciena, and Lumentum, securing patents and advancing commercial applications in optical networking.

Labs & Teams: The Plant Group operates within McGill’s ECE department, fostering a multidisciplinary environment for experimental and theoretical research in photonics. The team includes research professionals, visiting scholars, and administrative support from STARaCom.