Dr. Ralph investigates optical technologies with an emphasis on the intersection of advanced communication techniques and high-speed electronics.

He is the director of the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), a cross-disciplinary electronics and photonics research center. GEDC is focused on the synergistic development of high-speed electronic components and signal processing to enable revolutionary system performance. A firm believer in the importance of industry collaboration, Dr. Ralph is also the founder and director of the Terabit Optical Networking Consortium, an industry-led communications and information technology consortium.
His current research focus is on high-capacity, high-speed optical systems and interconnects. He is particularly interested in the intersection of electronics, photonics, and signal processing/machine learning as well as areas where integrated photonics is central to innovation. Dr. Ralph's study of these systems includes modulation formats, coherent receivers, microwave photonics, and integrated photonics. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences, and he holds several patents in the fields of optical communications, optical devices, and signal processing.
Research Goals 
  • 100G wireless: Collaborating with industry to enable the development of components, systems, and design rules for dynamically reconfigurable 100 gigabits per second and terabit networks
  • Aerospace photonics:  Leveraging integrated and microwave photonics in various aerospace applications
  • Autonomous networks: Developing self-operating, software-defined networks
Activities 
  • Integration of machine learning and signal processing: Incorporating modulation and detection algorithms with electronic signal processing
  • Systems simulations and scaling: Modeling high-speed optical communications systems in order to optimize their function
  • Digital coherent receivers: Increasing channel capacity using sophisticated subsystems and algorithms
Leadership
  • Director, Georgia Electronic Design Center, Georgia Tech
  • Founder and Director, Terabit Optical Networking Consortium, Georgia Tech
  • Glen Robinson Chair in Electro-Optics, Georgia Tech
  • Member, IEEE Photonics Society Board of Governors 
  • Fellow, The Optical Society (OSA)