Kenneth O. Hill

Kenneth O. Hill
Dr. Kenneth O. Hill, pictured in 1988
Nationality	Canadian
Fields	Physics, Photonics
Institutions	Communications Research Centre Nu-Wave Photonics/Zenastra Photonics Inc OZ Optics Limited
Alma mater	McMaster University
Notable awards	Fellowship, Optical Society of America Manning Principal Award John Tyndall Award Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics Rank Prize in Optoelectronics

Dr. Kenneth O. Hill is a physicist who specializes in the field of photonics. In the late 1970s, he discovered the phenomena of photosensitivity in optical fiber and has worked extensively in its applications. He first demonstrated Fiber Bragg gratings and their applications in optical communication and optical sensor systems. Further areas of his discovery and innovation include the phase mask technique for grating fabrication, fiber grating dispersion compensators, and wavelength selective fiber filters, multiplexers and demultiplexers. This field of research has led to the ability to create high speed fiber optic networks as well as many other communication applications that have revolutionized the telecommunications industry.

Hill was born in 1939 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He attended the American elementary school in Guadalajara until high school, whereupon he attended Upper Canada College in Toronto, Canada. Hill pursued a B.Eng (1963), M.Eng (1965) as well as a Ph.D in Engineering Physics (1968) from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. He is also a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Upon completing his Ph.D in 1968, Hill worked for the Government of Canada's Defense Research Telecommunications Establishment (DRTE) as a research scientist. Later that year, the DRTE was converted to the Communications Research Centre (CRC). At CRC, he continued as a research scientist before working as a Group leader in Optical Data Storage and Signal Processing (1970–1975), Manager of Optical Communications (1975–1985), Director of Optical Communications (1985–1992) as well as Principal Scientist (1992–2000).