John Ballato

• Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University

John Ballato is a professor of materials science and engineering at Clemson University, where he also holds the J. E. Sirrine Endowed Chair of Optical Fiber. Born in New York City, he was raised in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ USA earning a BS degree 1993 and the PhD 1997 in ceramic science and engineering. His advisor, Elias Snitzer, was a pioneer in lasers and optical fiber.

Ballato joined the faculty at Clemson University (Clemson, SC) in 1997, where his research has focused on understanding and applying light-matter interactions in novel optical materials. Under his leadership, the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies COMSET was formed at Clemson in 2000. Over the 14 years he directed COMSET, the center grew to 40 faculty members and subsequently attracted nearly $100 million in research support. Ballato subsequently served as Clemson's Vice President for Research and as Vice President for Economic Development where, in this latter position, he was responsible for University-industry relations and business development as well as multiple innovation campuses representing, at that time, over $750M of public / private investments.

Ballato's research has garnered over $80M in extramural support. He has published over 600 technical papers and holds 40 U.S. and foreign patents. Among numerous other honors, he is the recipient of the George W. Morey Award (ACerS, 2022), the William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award (IEEE Photonics Society, 2022), and the Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award (SPIE, 2025). Ballato is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2019), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE, 2017), the American Physical Society (APS, 2020), Optica (2012), the SPIE (2011), and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS, 2009). He is also an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors and the World Academy of Ceramics, whose global membership is limited to 300 persons. Ballato currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal, Optical Materials.

A serial entrepreneur, Ballato has co-founded 3 companies. Ballato also served as a Director of the AVX Corporation, a leading international manufacturer and supplier of advanced electronic components, which was publicly traded on the NYSE prior to its acquisition by Kyocera in 2020.

• –present Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University

Fellow AAAS, IEEE, APS, Optica, SPIE, and ACerS

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