John Ballato: The 2025 SPIE Aden & Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award

John Ballato, the J.E. Sirrine Endowed Chair of Optical Fiber at Clemson University, is a highly regarded innovator in the areas of optical materials and optical fibers with multiple leadership roles to his name. From 2000-2014, he was the director of Clemson’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies, a research unit which he also co-founded. Since 2004, he has been a principal investigator at the university’s SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Optical Materials. From 2014-2015, he was vice president for economic development at Clemson, and an interim vice president for research in 2010.

His technological achievements are no less high profile: during his career thus far, Ballato fundamentally rewrote the rules of fiber materials and helped drive a global renaissance in multi-functional and multi-material fibers. Employed commercially, his innovations and advancements permitted the in-fiber integration of amorphous glasses and polymers and crystalline metals and semiconductors. His novel combinations of materials, with their divergent unique and previously unrealizable optical, electronic, optoelectronic, acoustic properties have established entirely new fields. For example, in 1992, Ballato co-invented the molten core method (MCM) to manufacture optical fibers from a substantially wider range of compositions than previously possible. In 2006, he extended the MCM to invent thermally drawn crystalline fibers by understanding the opposing kinetics of semiconductor/metal solidification and far-from-equilibrium fiber draw. He then leveraged intrinsic immiscibilities to preferentially segregate dissimilar materials within the same fiber. Ballato’s technical contribution is inventing and maturing the MCM to directly fiberize otherwise incompatible materials, therein transforming the field of multi-material fibers from academic curiosity to a resource now used in smart fibers, enabling wearable electronics and sensors.

An SPIE Fellow since 2011, Ballato has been an SPIE Member for more than 20 years. He has been sharing his research at SPIE conferences since 2000 and has contributed his time and skillset as a chair for LASE (2021-2024), and a conference program committee participant for SPIE Photonics Europe, LASE, and Optics + Optoelectronics.

“Professor Ballato is a true pioneer of the novel material optical fiber field, having been responsible for the first demonstration of the molten core fiber fabrication method,” says University of Southampton Professor and Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre Anna Peacock. “Although the materials that he incorporates into the fibers are not strictly speaking ‘new,’ they are entirely new to fiber technologies, and the long fiber lengths open up new avenues for exploration of the material properties as well as new areas for their application. It is worth noting that whilst this work has clearly been tremendously important to the development of fiber technologies, many of the materials science aspects are also relevant to traditional semiconductor industries. In addition to his research achievements, it is also worth highlighting Professor Ballato’s excellent service to the optical and materials science communities. I can also personally state from my own experience of working with him that he is an exceptional mentor and has been a wonderful supporter to many students and junior staff that have worked within his team.”

Meet the other 2025 SPIE Society Award recipients.

Read more about John Ballato and the Aden & Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award.