Jérôme Lapointe

Making smart phones smarter with photonics

While still an undergrad student, Jérôme Lapointe  invented an artificial eye with a pupil that reacts to ambient brightness, resulting in a more realistic glass eye. Back then, his big dream was to design transparent computer screens, like those seen in science fiction movies. Now a doctoral engineering student at Polytechnique Montreal, he recently co-created photonic waveguides—channels for light to travel within—in glass on smart phones, creating a photonic system that could replace traditional electronic systems. His invisible waveguides are the first step in making his dream a reality and were named among Québec Science’s 10 top discoveries of the 2015.

*Jérôme Lapointe is one of 7 Young Innovators to Know who met with students, policy makers and Parliamentarians at Universities Canada’s Homecoming 2016 event on October 25 in Ottawa.