Sir Charles Kuen Kao was a Hong Kong electrical engineer who contributed to the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications. In the 1960s, Kao created various methods to combine glass fibres with lasers in order to transmit digital data, which laid the groundwork for the evolution of the Internet and the eventual creation of the World Wide Web. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009, announced October 6, 2009. Charles K. Kao (1/2), “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication”. Willard S. Boyle (1/4), “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor”. George E. Smith (1/4), “for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit - the CCD sensor”. Charles K. Kao: born 1933, Shanghai, China. Willard S. Boyle: born 1924, Amherst, NS, Canada. George E. Smith: born 1930, White Plains, NY, USA. Wiki link Wiki link Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).