Jozef Straus was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa at the 9.30 a.m. ceremony on Friday, June 7, “in recognition of his contributions in the nuclear physics and in the field of mechanical engineering”. 
Jozef Straus was born in Eastern Slovakia in 1946 and as an undergraduate studied nuclear physics at the Czech Technical University. In 1968, he received a scholarship from University of Alberta (Edmonton) to continue his studies in physics, and went on to receive a Ph.D. (measurement of changes in magnetic fields) in 1974. That year, Straus accepted an offer from Bell Northern Research in Ottawa to do post-doctoral work in fiber optics and worked his way up to a managerial position.
August 2003, Straus retired as CEO of JDS Uniphase, remaining a board member with the title founder emeritus. He resigned as board member July, 2004, but was an occasional adviser to the company.
Jozef Straus has numerous patents, publications, and other honours to his credit, notably the 2004 NRC/CATA Alliance Innovation & Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the 2001 Engineering Management Award from the University of Southern California.