Chigo Okonkwo

Chigo Okonkwo is Full Professor and Chair of Secured Ultra High Capacity Transmission at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology. He leads the high-capacity optical transmission laboratory at the Institute for Photonics Integration and contributes to the Center for Quantum Materials and Technology Eindhoven (QT/e).

Academic Qualifications:

• MSc in Telecommunications and Information Systems, University of Essex (2002)
• PhD in Optical Signal Processing, University of Essex (2010)

Research Interests:
Professor Okonkwo focuses on:

• Maximizing capacity of single-mode fiber systems through advanced-coded modulation and Probabilistic/Geometrically shaped signals
• Developing Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) systems for Petabit/s transmission using multi-mode/multi-core fibers
• Quantum secure communications and cryptographic protocol development
• Optical vector network analyzer (OVNA) technology for SDM fiber characterization
• Free-space optical link deployment in urban environments
• Low-complexity digital signal processing algorithms

Recent Publications Trends:
His 15 most recent articles (2023-2025) demonstrate active research in:

• Quantum-classical network integration
• Extreme capacity fiber transmission (Petabit/s systems)
• Machine learning for optical diagnostics
• SDM fiber measurement technologies
• Hybrid QKD-PQC security frameworks
• Free-space optical urban communication

Scientific Awards:

• Asia Communications and Photonics Conference (ACP) 2018 Best Paper Award
• European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) 2018 Student Paper Award
• Optica Student Paper Awards (2022)
• Corning Outstanding Student Paper Competition Finalist (2025)

Advisory & Collaborations:

• Advisor to 8+ researchers including Menno van den Hout, Vincent van Vliet, and Thomas Bradley
• Technical Program Committee Member, European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) since 2014
• Sub Committee Chair for Digital Signal Processing track at ECOC 2018
• General Chair for OSA Advanced Photonics Congress on Signal Processing for Photonics
• Collaborates with EU projects (HOMTech, PhotonDelta) and industrial partners
• Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of CUbIQ Technologies

Laboratory & Infrastructure:
Maintains the world-class High Capacity Optical Transmission Lab at TU/e, featuring:

• Advanced SDM fiber testing equipment
• Quantum communication research infrastructure
• Free-space optical link experimental setups
• Multi-core fiber amplification systems
• Coherent transmission testbeds
• Machine learning-enabled diagnostic tools