b'Member News March 2022 31ObituariesJohn Edwin MidwinterOBE FRS FREng PhD DSc HonFIETMarch 1938November 2021John Midwinter died on 13 November 2021. He was an outstanding optical fibre communications engineer who served as President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 2000-2001.John was educatedtaking a first-classJohn was a life-long at St Bartholomewsdegree. His first jobmember of the IEE School. Followingwas with the Royaland IET, organising school, he volunteeredRadar Establishment,events, speaking at for national servicein Malvern, researchingconferences, serving with the RAF, wherenon-linear optics, whichon many Boards he became a radarled him to work on theand Committees, instructor. He thenfirst ruby laser in theand as Chair of the studied physics atUK. He then workedElectronics Division. He Kings College, London,for the Perkin-Elmerwas awarded the J J corporation in the US,Thomson Medal by the returning to the UKIEE in 1987, for his work in 1971 to take up aon non-linear optics, role at the Post Officeoptical materials and Research Laboratory. coupling mechanisms During his time at thefor thin-film optical Post Office (later Britishwaveguides, and the Telecom) from 1971 toFaraday Medal in 1984, he shaped the1997, for substantial understanding, designcontributions to optical and development offibre communications the first optical fibrethrough his work on communications systemsthe technology for and their introductiontransmission and into the UK network,switching of wide-helping the country leadband optical signals. the world in establishingHe was elected an optical communicationsHonorary Fellow of as a fast-movingthe IET in 2009.and competitiveJohn Midwinter was research area. Johnmade an OBE and was subsequentlyelected to Fellow of the BT Professor ofthe Royal Academy of Optoelectronics atEngineering in 1984 University Collegeand became a Fellow London from 1984of the Royal Society to 1991, and Penderin 1985. He is survived Professor of Electronicby his wife Maureen, Engineering fromtheir four children, and John Edwin Midwinter OBE FRS FREng PhD DSc HonFIET 1991 to 2004.five grandchildren.'