Amy Carole Foster (née Turner) is an American engineer who is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. Her work considers nonlinear optics and silicon-based photonic devices.

Early life and education

Foster studied electrical engineering at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

. She moved to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

for her graduate studies, where she worked with

Michal Lipson Michal Lipson (born 1970) is an American physicist known for her work on silicon photonics. A member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2019 and the National Academy of Engineering since 2025, Lipson was named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow for c ...

. Her doctoral research looked at nonlinear optics in silicon waveguides. After earning her doctorate, Foster worked as a postdoctoral fellow at

Research and career

In 2010, Foster joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University. Her research considers the development of silicon-based photonic devices for new technologies. For the encryption of data, Foster developed a nonlinear photonic crystalline disk with input and output waveguides. This device configuration allows for the reproducible scrambling of signals, which creates specific keys for various information inputs. Such devices are almost impossible to clone, and reliably generate a large number of keys for the secure transmission of data. Foster has served as an Associate Editor of

Optics Express ''Optics Express'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Optica. It was established in 1997. The journal reports on scientific and technology innovations in all aspects of optics and photonics. The Energy Express supplement ...

since 2016 and was appointed

The Optical Society Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

Siegman International Summer School lecturer in 2018.

Awards and honors

* 2012

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

Young Faculty Award * 2016

Catalyst Award

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Amy Carole Cornell University College of Engineering alumni University at Buffalo alumni American women scientists American optical engineers American electrical engineers Johns Hopkins University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women academics 21st-century American women