As we deal with an unprecedented situation unfolding over the last few months, many of us have been working from home. During these times of remote work, we have been more relaxed, more productive, and perhaps out of the hustle and bustle of our daily grind. To me this has afforded an opportunity to reflect on the strides we have made as humankind with all our liberties, freedoms, conveniences, and gadgetry provided us. We are, perhaps, aware of the people that have made this possible and we owe a debt of gratitude to them. We owe an even more debt of gratitude to those unsung giants on whose previous works these advances have been made possible – be it in the field of human rights, fighting for just causes, protecting freedom, or, in the field of technology. I recently came upon such a story of an unsung hero who has made our current conveniences – Zoom, GoToMeeting, Netflix, etc. – possible, and which I would like to share.
It is well known that Charles K. Kao was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery in 1966 that led to a breakthrough in fiber optics. His remarkable revelation laid the groundwork for high-speed broadband internet that allows unfathomable volumes of text, image, and video data to be transmitted around the globe in an instant. Prof. Kao’s discovery truly revolutionized the way data was transmitted and allowed us to consume such high bandwidth services we have grown so accustomed to in recent times.
But it was nearly 12 years before Prof. Kao’s work that a scientist by the name of Narinder Singh Kapany had demonstrated for the first time the transmission of images over a bundle of optic fibers. The term “fiber optics” was coined by Kapany in 1955. Kapany created the essential groundwork for others to follow and thus laid the foundation for the modern lightspeed information highway. His contributions, however, have been recognized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which acknowledges him as the inventor of fiber optics. He also made it to the list of Fortune magazines “unsung heroes” whose contributions radically changed the global business landscape. His story is truly remarkable on the profound influence it has had on our current way of life and the possibilities it has opened for us to better ourselves. He is, truly, one of the unsung heroes to whom we owe a lot.
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." – Isaac Newton.
As we celebrate our heroes, let us also pay homage to those unsung ones on whose shoulders we have built our nation and our progress.
Amit Bokey
VP of Finance
PMI Tallahassee - pmitlh.org