Eric Swanson (engineer)
Eric A. Swanson | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 16, 1960 Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Optical coherence tomography (with Fujimoto and Huang) |
Eric A. Swanson (born September 16, 1960) is an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur known for co-inventing optical coherence tomography.[1]
Career
Swanson was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on September 16, 1960. His father was a professor of business and economics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.[2] Swanson graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1982 (Summa Cum Laude), followed by a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984.[2]
In the late 1980s, while serving as associate group leader at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, Swanson began collaborating with James Fujimoto and his student, David Huang. Together they developed the first Optical Coherence Tomography, a technique widely use in medicine that uses interference to reconstruct the 3D structure of an object or tissue. Their paper was published in Science in 1991.[3]
Since 2004, Swanson has been a research affiliate at MIT. His previous roles include co-founder and chairman of Acacia Communications Inc. (2009-2018); co-founder and chief scientist of Sycamore Networks (1998-2004); co-founder and chief technology officer of LightLab Imaging (1998-2002); co-founder of Advanced Ophthalmic Devices (1992-1994); and associate group leader at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (1984-1998). Swanson is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and an Optica Fellow. As of January 2025, Swanson had 64 registered U.S. patents.[2]
Awards and honors
- Champalimaud Vision Award (2012)[4]
- Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2023)[5]
- National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2023)[6]
- Induction to the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2025)[2]
References
- ^ Shu, X.; Beckmann, L.; Zhang, H. (December 2017). "Visible-light optical coherence tomography: a review". Journal of Biomedical Optics. 22 (12). spiedigitallibrary: 1–14. Bibcode:2017JBO....22l1707S. doi:10.1117/1.JBO.22.12.121707. PMC 5745673. PMID 29218923.
- ^ a b c d "Fact sheet: Eric Swanson" (PDF). National Inventors Hall of Fame. January 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
- ^ Huang, David; Swanson, Eric A.; Lin, C.P.; Schuman, J.S.; Stinson, W.G.; Chang, W.; et al. (November 1991). "Optical coherence tomography". Science. 254 (5035): 1178–1181. Bibcode:1991Sci...254.1178H. doi:10.1126/science.1957169. PMC 4638169. PMID 1957169.
- ^ "2012: Williams & Fujimoto, Huang, Puliafito, Schuman, Swanson | Champalimaud Foundation". www.fchampalimaud.org. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
- ^ "OCT—for rapid detection of diseases of the retina". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
- ^ "Four from MIT awarded National Medals of Technology, Science". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. October 24, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2025.