Photonics engineers are working toward a day when fast, energy efficient computers do their mathematics using photons — packets of light — instead of electrons.

Experts estimate that computers gobble up as much as 10% of global electricity. They predict that that share will only grow as data centers expand and the internet of things brings scads of new computer-controlled devices to the world.

Jelena Vuckovic is an electrical engineer who sees a light on the horizon — quite literally. She is building computers that calculate and communicate more with photons than electrons. These “photonic” devices could cut energy consumption in half and empower exciting new technologies, like quantum computing, in the process.

Before that day can come, however, Vuckovic and other proponents of photonics — the science of using light for practical purposes — will have to design smaller devices and improve manufacturing techniques to compete with today’s ultra-small electronics. To hasten that arrival, Vuckovic is turning to artificial intelligence to develop new device designs and new materials that could usher in the age of photonics.

Join Russ Altman and engineer Jelena Vuckovic for a discussion of the power and promise of photonics on The Future of Everything. Connect With Us:

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