Chigo M. Okonkwo

Chigo M. Okonkwo is a Full Professor and Chair of Secured Ultra High Capacity Transmission at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He leads the high-capacity optical transmission laboratory within the Electro-Optical Communications Group at the Institute for Photonics Integration, focusing on next-generation photonic networks.

• Education: PhD in Optical Signal Processing, University of Essex (2009)
• Appointments: Since 2014 (tenured), 2010 as Post-Doctoral Researcher
• Key Research Areas: Space Division Multiplexing, Quantum Secure Communications, Advanced Modulation Formats

His work spans optical transmission systems, including probabilistic signal shaping, low-complexity digital signal processing, and multi-mode/multi-core fiber components. Recent publications highlight breakthroughs in Petabit/s transmission and quantum cryptography use cases.

Scientific recognition includes:

• ACP 2018 Best Paper Award
• ECOC 2018 Student Paper Award
• Optica 2022 Student Paper Awards
• Corning Outstanding Student Paper Competition Finalist 2025

He actively contributes to standardization efforts as a Technical Program Committee member for ECOC and serves as Senior Member of IEEE. Current projects include FIQCS (Fieldlab Quantum Cryptography Solutions) and NGF-ECO1 (Netherlands Quantum Flagship), advancing quantum-secure protocols and petabit/s capacity scaling.