Member Bio - David F. Welch

David F. Welch co-founded Infinera and currently serves as President and as a member

of the Board of Directors. Previously, he was CTO and VP Corporate Development

at SDL. Dr. Welch holds over 130 patents in optical transmission technologies, and has

authored over 300 technical publications in the same field. In recognition of his technical

contributions to the optical industry, he has been awarded the Optical Society of

America’s Adolph Lomb Medal, Joseph Fraunhofer Award and John Tyndall Award,

and the UK-based Institution of Engineering and Technology’s JJ Thompson Medal

for Achievement in Electronics. He is a Fellow of the OSA and the IEEE. In 2011, Dr.

Welch founded Students Matter, a national non-profit organization dedicated to sponsoring

impact litigation to promote access to quality public education. The victory in its first case,

Vergara v. California, gained national attention. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from

the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.

169 Java Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
408 572-5200
dwelch@infinera.com