Xiaoyi Bao

Xiaoyi Bao has been a Full Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa since 2000 and the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Fiber Optics and Photonics (2003–2023). Her research spans distributed fiber sensing, nonlinear fiber optics, random photonics, ultrasound sensing, and photonic instrumentation. She has authored more than 400 refereed journal papers and over 290 conference papers, holds 10 U.S. patents, and has transferred multiple technologies to industry.

She is a Fellow of Optica and the Royal Society of Canada. Her contributions have been recognized by the NSERC Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact in Natural Sciences and Engineering (2025), the CAP Lifetime Achievement Award in Physics (2024), the Optica Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize (2023), and the Governor General’s Innovation Award (2021).

Dr. Bao’s research focuses on experimental photonics, nonlinear fiber optics, distributed fiber sensing, random photonics, quantum fiber technologies, photonic instrumentation, structural health monitoring, and non-destructive testing. Her research integrates light–sound interactions, structured fibers, random optical systems, and advanced metrology for applications in sensing, communications, and intelligent photonic technologies.

Random Photonics and Nonlinear Optical Systems

• Tovar, P., von der Weid, J.P., Wang, Y., Westbrook, P., Chen, L., Bao, X. (2026). Random optical parametric oscillator fiber sensor. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 52. DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-02049-9. 
• Zhou, D., Tatel, G., Wang, Y., Westbrook, P., Chen, L., Bao, X. (2026). All-fiber random Kerr optical frequency comb. Nature Communications, 17, 9369. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-76335-4. 
• Li, Y., Zhong, Z., Zhang, L., et al. (2025). Replica symmetry breaking dynamics in high-order optical mode multi-Stokes coherent random fiber laser. APL Photonics, 10, 070804. DOI: 10.1063/5.0273288. 
• Tovar, P., Wang, Y., Chen, L., Bao, X., von der Weid, J.P. (2023). A random optical parametric oscillator. Nature Communications, 14, 6664. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42452-7. 

Distributed Fiber Sensing and Optical Metrology

• Huang, Y., Yang, J., Wang, Y., Chen, L., Bao, X. (2026). Fresnel coherent accumulation in chirped-pulse Brillouin dynamic gratings: sub-pulse spatial resolution and single-shot absolute birefringence retrieval. Photonics Research, 14(9), 3983. DOI: 10.1364/PRJ.603480
• Wang, Y., Tovar, P., Cotton-Dumouchel, M., Chen, L., Bao, X. (2024). Distributed phase-matching measurement enabled dynamic temperature-strain discrimination using single chirped pulse probe. APL Photonics, 9(10). DOI: 10.1063/5.0226065.

Acoustic, Ultrasound, and Light–Sound Interactions

• Tatel, G., Bao, X. (2026). Resonant SAW–nanofiber acousto-optic coupling for high-sensitivity detection. Optics Letters, 51(11), 3144–3147. DOI: 10.1364/OL.599847.
• Bao, X., Tatel, G. (2024). Micro-structured and Telecom Fibers for Acoustic and Ultrasound Sensing and Imaging. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 43(4), 1581–1594. DOI: 10.1109/JLT.2024.3472488.