NTT Research names Dr. Tetsuomi Sogawa as new Physics & Informatics Lab director 

NTT Research, the Silicon Valley-based research division of Japanese telecom giant NTT, announced Dr. Tetsuomi Sogawa as the new director of its Physics & Informatics (PHI) Lab effective May 1 and following the retirement of current director Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto. 

Sogawa is set to deepen the lab’s study of linear and nonlinear photonic devices – those in which output changes proportionally to the input versus those in which output does not scale with input, respectively – while increasing collaboration with NTT’s global R&D network to advance fundamental research into real-world applications. 

“This team has been led by Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto since the beginning of NTT Research seven years ago, but he decided to retire and go back to Japan. He did a fabulous job attracting a lot of talent: he is professor emeritus at Stanford University and has great connections in academia in the U.S., which was really helpful for us to get to know important players in the academic world,” noted NTT Research President and CEO Kazu Gomi while at the Upgrade 2026 inaugural press conference. 

Launched in 2019 as one of NTT Research’s three original labs, the PHI Lab conducts fundamental research into nonlinear optics – a fundamental building block in realizing optical-based computational platforms and related applications. 

Dr. Tim McKenna, for example, has been leading the Lab’s efforts in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), which promises to leverage strong optical nonlinearity – as well as functionalities including the Optical Parametric Amplifier, Frequency Comb and Super Continuum Generator – to create a single chip, which leads to the potential of photonic integrated circuits. 

As more organizations leverage energy-hungry AI solutions, demand for optical-based solutions continues to grow as well, as stakeholders seek to address the energy challenge – optical-based systems are far more energy efficient for the functional elements required for AI platforms.

Incoming director Sogawa joined NTT Basic Research Laboratories (NTT-BRL) in 1991, where he began his research on the fabrication of semiconductor quantum nanostructures by combining crystal growth and microfabricated techniques. He was then appointed Direct of NTT-BRL in 2013, and subsequently took the directorial leadership of the NTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory Group in 2018. 

“Dr. Sogawa has been a significant driver of some of the most critical research projects within NTT’s research labs, including the coherent Ising machine and ultra-low-power optical transistors using photonic crystals, a foundational piece of NTT’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network initiative,” Gomi added. 

“His impressive research experience, record of scientific leadership and focus on bringing optical quantum innovations from the lab to reality makes him an ideal director of our PHI Lab.” 

In 2019, NTT announced the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) initiative to develop and implement ultra-fast, ultra-sustainable and ultra-low-latency communications infrastructure globally. Several of the initiative’s core technologies – including the All-Photonics Network – were first developed within the NTT Science and Core Technology group. 

“My career has been built on the core belief that truly impactful technological innovation begins with an idea – a theory that can be fundamentally tested, improved, and re-tested over time,” said Sogawa. 

Beyond his role at NTT Research, he continues to serve as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, while also serving as program director for the 3rd Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP3) led by the Cabinet Office of Japan – where he spearheads efforts to translate academic research outcomes into real-world innovation. 

“The PHI Lab brings together like-minded scientists and engineers from around the globe to advance a vision of post-electrical communications. I am incredibly excited to join this team that has been wonderfully assembled, and whose work has been so thoughtfully fostered by Dr. Yamamoto,” Sogawa further stressed.

Featured image: Courtesy of Salomé Beyer Vélez