Kent D. Choquette received his B.S. degree in Engineering Physics and Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado-Boulder and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1990 to 1992, he held a postdoctoral appointment at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey. He then joined Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and from 1993 to 2000 was a Principal Member of Technical Staff. While at Sandia in 1994, he invented and demonstrated the first monolithic selectively oxidized vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) which today is referred to as the oxide-confined VCSEL and is manufactured around the world.

He became a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois in 2000. His Photonic Device Research Group is centered on the design, fabrication, characterization, and applications of vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), photonic crystal light sources, nanofabrication technologies, and hybrid integration techniques for photonic devices.

Dr. Choquette has authored over 300 technical publications, three book chapters, and has presented numerous invited talks and tutorials. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Lightwave Technology, and served in the past as Associate Editor of IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics and IEEE Photonic Technology Letters, and as a Guest Editor of IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics. From 2000 to 2002, he was an IEEE/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) Distinguished Lecturer.

He was awarded the 2008 IEEE/Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award, the 2012 OSA Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award, the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from IEEE, and the 2016 Technology Achievement Award from SPIE. He has served as the IEEE Vice President of Conferences, Vice President of Technical Affairs, President Elect, and in 2016-2017 served as the President. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, OSA, SPIE, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.