Peter J. Delfyett, Ph.D.

Pegasus Professor
University Trustee Chair
University Distinguished Professor of Optics, Electrical Engineering & Physics
Director, Townes Laser Institute
University of Central Florida

45 U.S. Patents

Peter J. Delfyett, Ph.D. is Pegasus Professor, University Trustee Chair, and University Distinguished Professor of Optics, Electrical Engineering, and Physics at CREOL, the College of Optics & Photonics at the University of Central Florida, where he also serves as the Director of the Townes Laser Institute.

Throughout his career, Dr. Delfyett has made significant discoveries in the areas of ultrafast optical device physics, semiconductor diode based ultrafast lasers and their application to optical communication and signal processing, including the development of the world’s fastest, most powerful mode-locked semiconductor laser diode. Dr. Delfyett’s groundbreaking innovations also include the demonstration of an optically distributed clocking network for high-speed digital switches and supercomputer applications, and the first observation of the optical nonlinearity induced by the cooling of highly excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductor optical amplifiers.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Delfyett founded Raydiance, Inc., a spin-off company developing high power, ultrafast laser systems, based on his research, for applications in medicine, consumer electronics, defense, material processing, biotechnology, automotive, and other key technological markets.

Dr. Delfyett is a Member of The National Academy of Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, National Academy of Inventors, National Society of Black Physicists, Optica, and the International Society for Optics and Photonics. He is also the recipient of the NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the APS Edward Bouchet Award, the Florida Academy of Science Medal, the Townsend Harris Award, the IEEE Photonics Society’s William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award, and the APS Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science.

Dr. Delfyett holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Rochester. He went on to complete both an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. at The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York.