SOUTHAMPTON, England, Nov. 5 -- David Payne, director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton, was awarded the Kelvin Medal Tuesday and was presented with a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth last Friday at Buckingham Palace for his contributions to the field of photonics. The Kelvin Medal is awarded jointly, every three years, by the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Institute of Materials, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Institution of Mining Engineers and Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. Previous winners of the include radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi and Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine. Payne, an international expert in photonics and optical fiber technology, has spearheaded many key advances in optical fiber communications, including the development of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier, which has revolutionized telecommunications over the past thirty years. He is chairman and director of Southampton Photonics Inc., a spinoff the University of Southampton that manufactures several of his inventions. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Optical Society of America and the Royal Society of Arts. This year, he celebrates his 40th year at the University of Southampton, which he joined as an undergraduate in 1964. Payne said, "This honors not just me, but all the hundreds of world-class photonics scientists with whom I have had the privilege to work over the years and who have made the ORC the internationally recognized center it is today. I am looking forward to many more years of innovation in this exciting field." For more information, visit: www.orc.soton.ac.uk