Wilson Sibbett (1948-2024)
Optoelectronics
Rank Prize is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Wilson Sibbett FRS of the University of St Andrews at the age of 76.
Wilson, a very highly regarded figure in the UK and international photonics community, was a winner of the Rank Prize in Optoelectronics in 1997 ‘For the invention of the Kerr lens mode-locking technique for solid state lasers’. This technique opened up the field of femtosecond lasers, providing the basis for many commercial products and facilitating exciting scientific developments in areas including attosecond science, frequency combs and high-intensity amplified laser systems.
Wilson was also a longstanding and much-valued member of the Rank Prize Optoelectronics Committee, to which he gave many years of dedicated service before stepping down in 2000.
Always generous with his time, Wilson was a remarkable senior peer and colleague in the scientific community who facilitated and supported the careers of many students and post-doctoral researchers. His influence will continue through his many mentees and colleagues and through the continuing impact of his scientific work. He will be long and very warmly remembered.
