Charles K. Cao, also known as the father of fire optics, was a Chinese physicist and electrical engineer. He is a pioneer who has developed and applied fiber optics in telecommunications. Charles also created various methods of transmitting digital data through a combination of optical and fiber lasers, which proved to be the basis for the development of the Internet. Charles K. Cao’s net worth at the time of his death is estimated to be approximately $500,000.
| Full Name | Charles Kuen Kao |
| Birth Date | November 4, 1933 |
| Birth Place | Shanghai, China |
| Profession | Electrical engineer, physicist |
| Wife | Gwen May-Wan Kao |
| Net Worth | $500 thousand |
| Death | September 23, 2018 |
Early life
Charles Kuen Kao was born on November 4, 1933 in Shanghai, China. His father, Cao Chun Xiang, was a lawyer. Charles has a brother with whom he studied Chinese classics under the guidance of a tutor. He later studied at the Shanghai World School in the Shanghai French Concession.
Charles and his family moved to Taiwan in 1948. He graduated from high school and later attended St. Joseph’s College. He later joined Woolwich Polytechnic, now known as the University of Greenwich. He has an engineering degree from university. He later entered the University of London, where he obtained his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1965.
Net worth and career of Charles K. Kao
Charles worked at Harlow’s Standard Telecommunications Laboratories (STL) during his Ph.D. from the University of London. It was then that he got his first pioneering job as a researcher and engineer. Charles and his colleagues pioneered the development of fiber optics as a telecommunications medium in STL in the 1960s.
Charles was appointed head of the electro-optics research team at STL in 1964. In December 1964 he replaced his supervisor Karbowiak, after which he decided on a new plan and, together with his colleague George Hockham, globally changed the direction of research. Charles and his team studied optical physics and presented the first IEE results in January 1966.
Previously, most did not believe in Kao’s idea when he proposed to replace copper cables with glass cables to transmit information over long distances. He later received some support after a trip to Japan. He also discussed methods to improve fiberglass production with engineers, scientists and businessmen.
Previously, Kao had strongly favored the single mode for long-distance optical communication, which was pursued and later applied exclusively indoors. Later he worked at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and founded the Department of Electronics. He was a full professor of electronics and a lecturer at CUHK.
Charles was Vice Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for nearly ten years, from 1987 to 1996. For many years, until July 15, 2000, he was Chairman of the Energy Advisory Committee (EAC). In the same year, he became a member of the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Advisory Council on April 20, 2000. He also founded and served as CEO and Chairman of ITX Services Limited.
Personal Life
Charles K. Kao was married to Gwen MeiWan. He met his wife after finishing his studies in London. They also worked together as engineers at the same workstation, with standard phones and cables. The couple married in 1959. Together they had two children, a boy and a girl.
Charles received a Google Doodle on November 4 for his 88th birthday for developing fiber optics. In 2004 he contracted Alzheimer’s disease. Despite this, he was able to recognize his family. Charles, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, died on September 23, 2018 at the age of 84.
Charles K. Cao net worth
Charles K. Kao’s net worth before his death on September 23, 2018 was $500,000. On October 6, 2009 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics. Charles and his wife, Gwen, founded the Charles K. Kao Foundation in 2010 to raise funds, raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, and support patients.