# Janusz S. Wilczynski

Janusz S. Wilczynski is a physicist and optical engineer known for designing optics used in semiconductor manufacturing and a career spent at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> His field is semiconductor-manufacturing optics, not clinical medicine; a same-named Polish interventional cardiologist is responsible for the cardiology publications that appear under this name in PubMed, and this article excludes them (see below).

| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Optics for semiconductor manufacturing<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> |
| Education | Master's in physics, Jagellonian University, Poland, 1957; Ph.D. in physics and optics, Imperial College, London, 1961<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> |
| Industrial career | IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, from 1962<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> |
| OSA Fellow | 1972<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> |
| David Richardson Medal | 1988, Optical Society of America<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> |

## Education and career

Wilczynski studied physics in Poland, taking his master's degree at Jagellonian University in 1957. He then moved to [England](https://www.edgepedia.org/england) and completed a Ph.D. in physics and optics at Imperial College, London, in 1961.<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup> The following year he joined the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where his research career was based.<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup>

## Contributions

The recognized contribution of Wilczynski's career is the design and utilization of optics suitable for the manufacturing of semiconductors. That is the wording of the citation for his 1988 David Richardson Medal from the Optical Society of America (OSA, now Optica).<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup>

## The name question: two Wilczynskis

The key works attached to this name in biomedical databases belong to a different person. A Polish interventional cardiologist, Janusz Wilczyński, affiliated with the Institute of Cardiology from 2001, authored studies on transcatheter closure of [patent foramen ovale](https://www.edgepedia.org/patent-foramen-ovale) in cryptogenic stroke (2004), staged Amplatzer closure of chronic postinfarction ventricular septal defects (2001), and a single-center series of 70 Ross operations (2004); his publication profile lists 6 works, 60 citations, and an h-index of 2, with co-authors including Marcin Demkow, Witold Rużyłło, and Cezary Kępka.<sup>[2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15457276/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1080/146288401316922698)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15139672/)</sup> None of this clinical cardiology work relates to the subject of this article, whose field is optics, and the works are excluded from this biography. The authoritative record for the subject of this article is the Optica biography.<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup>

## Honours and recognition

Wilczynski was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 1972 and received the society's David Richardson Medal in 1988.<sup>[1](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)</sup>

## References

1. [Janusz S. Wilczynski | Optica](https://www.optica.org/History/Biographies/bios/Janusz_S_Wilczynski)
2. [Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale in patients with cryptogenic stroke. Kardiol Pol, 2004](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15457276/)
3. [Staged transcatheter closure of chronic postinfarction ventricular septal defects with the Amplatzer septal occluder. Int J Cardiovasc Intervent, 2001](https://doi.org/10.1080/146288401316922698)
4. [Ross operation. Experience with 70 consecutive patients. Acta Cardiol, 2004](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15139672/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physical and mathematical scientists › Physicists and astronomers › Researchers in applied physics, optics, photonics, and plasma physics › Applied optics and instrumentation*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026 · Last review: Sep 20, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license