White House Awards National Medal of Technology to Corning Inventors of Low-Loss Optical Fiber.

Business & Technology Editors

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2000

1970 Team of Corning Scientists Honored for Breakthrough That

Transformed Telecommunications, Paved Way for the Internet

President Clinton announced today the winners of the 2000 National Medal of Technology, the highest honor bestowed by the President of the United States to America's leading innovators. Drs. Donald B. Keck, Robert D. Maurer and Peter C. Schultz, who invented low-loss optical fiber while working at Corning Incorporated in the 1970s, are included among this year's recipients. The honor marks the third time Corning has been affiliated with the National Medal of Technology since its inception in 1985.

Keck, Maurer and Schultz' invention, recognized as a monumental technical breakthrough, paved the way for the commercialization of optical fiber, creating a revolution in telecommunications and laying the cornerstone for the information superhighway. Innovations such as the Internet, videoconferencing, telemedicine and high-quality, long-distance telephone service are a result of the Corning research team's efforts.

The National Medal of Technology, awarded to a new group of America's leading innovators each year, highlights technical contributions that significantly impact commerce and advance the American standard of living.

"We honor these exceptional scientists for their achievement, which has enabled millions of people worldwide to access limitless amounts of information, rapidly transforming our society - the way we work, learn and live - and our expectations for the future," said Dr. Charles W. Deneka, Corning's executive vice president and chief technology officer.

"The pioneering achievement of Drs. Keck, Maurer and Schultz provided the foundation for fiber optic communication and put glass strands at the core of the telecommunications industry today," said Roger G. Ackerman, Corning's chairman and chief executive officer. "Advances in fiber optics have powered the revolution in information technology and allowed us to have access to unlimited information, rapidly transforming both today's society and our expectations for the future."

Keck, Maurer and Schultz' research came at a time when scientists across the globe were searching for a technology that could overcome the limitations of copper cable and create the next generation of communication systems. While many experts thought this system would be built with a technology known as millimeter waveguides, the Corning scientists believed that optical fiber offered great potential if they could find a way to prevent light from fading and being lost as it traveled the length of the fiber. After working on the project for more than three years at Corning's Sullivan Park research and development facility, the team designed and produced the first commercially feasible optical fiber.

Donald Keck received his Ph.D. in 1967 from Michigan State University. He joined Corning Incorporated in 1968 as a senior research scientist and served successively as director of Applied Physics, division vice president - Optics and Photonics and currently as division vice president and technology director - Optical Physics Technology group.

Robert Maurer, retired research fellow of Corning Incorporated, joined Corning after receiving his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Maurer, who led the team of Corning scientists, served as a research physicist, senior research associate and manager of Corning's Fundamental Physics Department. Maurer retired from Corning in 1989.

Peter Schultz, president of Heraeus Amersil, began his career at Corning Incorporated in 1967 after receiving his Ph.D. from Rutgers University and continued as a senior research scientist until 1984. In 1984, Schultz held the position of vice president of technology at SpecTran Corporation and in 1986 was named president of technology at Galileo ElectroOptics Inc.

Three other winners join Drs. Keck, Maurer and Schultz this year: Douglas C. Engelbart, Bootstrap Institute, for creating the foundations of personal computing; Dean Kamen, DEKA Research & Development Corporation, for his inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide; and the IBM Corporation, for 40 years of innovations in the technology of hard disk drives and information storage products.

In 1986, Dr. Stanley D. Stookey, retired research fellow of Corning Incorporated, was presented with the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan for his invention of glass-ceramics, photosensitive glass and photochromic glass.

In 1994, Corning was awarded the National Medal of Technology for life-changing and life-enhancing inventions which made possible entire new industries - lighting, television and optical communications.

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's revenues in 1999 were $4.7 billion.