News
ECE Assistant Professor Jon Schuller awarded a UCSB Regents’ Junior Faculty Fellowship (RJFF)
May 10th, 2013
The Regents’ Junior Faculty Fellowship (RJFF) program helps junior faculty members develop a substantial record in research and creative work necessary for advancement to tenure.
Schuller was awarded $7,500 for 2013 summer research salary to support his project entitled, “Infrared Plasmonics.”
ECE Professor John Bowers named the UCSB Faculty Research Lecturer for 2013
May 8th, 2013The UCSB Faculty Research Lecturer for 2013 award is the highest bestowed by the university on one of its faculty
John Bowers, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials at UC Santa Barbara, has been named the UCSB Faculty Research Lecturer for 2013. He is being recognized for his “groundbreaking scholarship, outstanding research contributions and scientific leadership.”
Bowers, who currently holds the university’s Fred Kavli Chair in Nanotechnology, and is the director of the campus’s Institute for Energy Efficiency, was described by one of his colleagues as “a great teacher, an outstanding public lecturer, a dedicated campus research leader, an accomplished entrepreneur, an effective collaborator, and an inspirational worker for the public good. He is widely knowledgeable, being expert in the fields of electronic devices, device physics, and materials.”
“I’m very thrilled and honored to receive it,” said Bowers. “Obviously, having your peers select you for the award is phenomenal and very appreciated.”
Bowers is the 58th recipient of the Faculty Research Lectureship, since the award’s creation in 1955. His lecture, which will take place on campus, will be free and open to the public. The date has not yet been determined.
UCSB News Release (full release)
20 teams advance to the Technology Management Program’s “2013 New Venture Competition (NVC) Fair” event on April 24th
April 22nd, 2013
Each year the Technology Management Program’s “New Venture Competition (NVC)” begins in November with an initial orientation meeting and culminates in May with the Finals event.
The 2013 NVC competition began with a record number of 64 teams enrolled from across campus. Of those, 20 teams have been selected to participate in the NVC Fair event on Wednesday, April 24th. Attendees from the local community will help decide which six teams will move on to the finals in May.
The Electrical & Computer Engineering Department and the Computer Engineering Program have the following students on teams in this year’s event:
- Electrical & Computer Engineering: Sankalp Dayal (Rare Beat)
- Computer Engineering: Jeff Hanna, Jerry Peng, Sea Pong, and Alex Scarlett (Volt Duo)
ECE’s Bowers, Denbaars and Mishra panelists at 2013 UCSB Summit for Energy Efficiency
March 26th, 2013
The UC Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency, now in its 4th year, has attracted wide attention as a major forum on energy efficiency and sustainability with an emphasis on the science and technology that catalyzes the field.
The 2013 Summit, being held on May 1st and 2nd, will focus on “Materials for a Sustainable Energy Future.” Join the Institute for Energy Efficiency and leaders from industry, academia, national labs and government to hear insights into the materials challenges, opportunities and latest developments relating to key technologies impacting energy efficiency.
Session Highlights:
- Materials for Energy Technologies — What are the key issues around extracting, processing and using the materials needed for our increasing global energy demands?
- Innovations in Solid-State Lighting (Steven DenBaars) — Discussions on the latest developments in this rapidly growing field.
- Energy Efficient Information & Communications Technologies (John Bowers) — The future of scalability and energy efficiency for next generation ICT core networks.
- Electrochemical Energy Storage Technologies — What are the latest technologies and materials that will enable more efficient, economical and reliable energy storage?
- Utilities Discussion — The need for, and implementation of, new technologies for energy efficiency.
- High Efficiency Power Electronics (Umesh Mishra) — Using materials to minimize energy loss and make power electronics more efficient on all levels.
2013 UCSB Summit on Energy Efficiency
Professor Kaustav Banerjee contributes to the 60th Anniversary compendium of IEEE Electron Devices Society
January 29th, 2013
Professor Kaustav Banerjee’s contributed chapter, VLSI Technology and Circuits, co-authored with Dr. Shuji Ikeda of TEI Solutions, Japan, is one of the contributions selected in Guide to State-of-the-Art Electron Devices (Ed. J. N. Burghartz, ISBN: 978-1-1183-4726-3, Wiley-IEEE Press), a book that marks the 60th anniversary of the IRE Electron Devices Group, which later evolved into the IEEE Electron Devices Society.
The book derives its uniqueness through contributions made by internationally respected members of the electron devices community. It defines the state-of-the-art of electron devices, as well as future directions across the entire field, and is designed to serve as a valuable resource for students, R&D engineers and managers in the semiconductor industry, applied scientists and circuit designers.
One of the attractive features of the book is a detailed timeline of important historical developments in the electronic science, technology and applications arena. The compendium is due to become available in April 2013.
Assistant Professor Jon Schuller receives Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) — Young Investigator Award
January 18th, 2013
Schuller receives the AFOSR-YIP award for his work in Infrared Semiconductor Metamaterials. Schuller is one of 40 scientists and engineers who will receive approximately $15 million in grants from the AFOSR-YIP.
Metamaterials are engineered nanomaterials, typically constructed from metallic nanoparticles, that exhibit unique optical properties not found in nature. Professor Schuller’s research proposal, “Infrared Semiconductor Metamaterials” describes a new class of metamaterials constructed from semiconductor, rather than metallic, elements. Switching to semiconductor constituents will enable novel methods to dynamically tune metamaterial response via optoelectronic processes. Ultimately, he hopes to construct CMOS compatible metamaterials that are reconfigurable at GHz time scales. Such developments may lead to superior infrared frequency beam-steering, focusing, sensing, and communications technologies.
The YIP is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States who received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in the last five years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research.
The objective of this program is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering.
This year AFOSR received 192 proposals in response to the AFOSR broad agency announcement solicitation in major areas of interest to the Air Force. These areas include: aerospace, chemical and material sciences; physics and electronics; and mathematics, information and life sciences. AFOSR officials select proposals based on the evaluation criteria listed in the broad agency announcement. Those selected will receive the grants over a 3 to 5-year period.
ECE Professor Katie Byl receives a 2013 National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award
December 18th, 2012
Byl, an Assistant Professor in Control Systems in the ECE Department, received the $400,000 award for her project proposal entitled, “CAREER: Robust Bipedal Locomotion in Real-World Environments.”
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
ECE Professors Madhow, Rodwell and alum Torkildson selected as winners of the IEEE TWC 2012 Marconi Prize Paper Award
November 26th, 2012
Torkildson, Madhow and Rodwell selected for their paper “Indoor Millimeter Wave MIMO: Feasibility and Performance,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Vol.10, No.12, Dec 2011, pp. 4150-4160
The IEEE Guglielmo Marconi Best Paper Award is an annual award, sponsored by Qualcomm Inc., for an original paper in the field of wireless communications published in the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications in the previous three calendar years.
The award will be presented on Tuesday, December 4th at GLOBECOM 2012 in Anaheim, CA
Upamanyu Madhow and Mark Rodwell are Professors of ECE at UCSB and Eric Torkildson is affiliated with the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
ECE Professor, Kaustav Banerjee, appointed as a Guest Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University
October 29th, 2012
Appointment of Prof. Banerjee as SJTU guest professor will help facilitate exchanges between the School of Electronic, Information and Electrical Engineering (SEIEE) at SJTU and the College of Engineering at UCSB
Electrical and computer engineering professor Kaustav Banerjee has been appointed as a Guest Professor by China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). A formal ceremony is being scheduled during the next few months in SJTU. Guest professorships are highly prestigious and accorded to only a few academics from around the world that are internationally recognized as leaders in their fields. The Guest Professor appointments, which are unique to China, are designed to foster collaborations with leading academics at top universities worldwide.
CoE News Release (full release)
ECE graduate student, Thomas Kuo, part of EcoLek team that lands DEMOgod Award for Birdeez App at DEMO Fall 2012 competition
October 24th, 2012
A team of UC Santa Barbara students including ECE Ph.D. student, Thomas Kuo, has landed a DEMOgod award for their app “Birdeez” at the DEMO, The Launchpad for Emerging Technology and Trends, Fall 2012 competition.
Birdeez, a location based iPhone app for identifying birds, was launched by start-up EcoLek at DEMO Fall 2012, a unique and high-profile competition for aspiring technology entrepreneurs. DEMO is world-renowned for launching the most innovative products in mobile, social media, and disruptive technologies. The Birdeez team, accompanied on stage by a live falcon, was awarded one of five DEMOgod awards for innovative product and presentation.
In 2012,Thomas Kuo, an ECE doctoral student in Professor B.S. Manjunath’s Vision Research Lab, and his teammates entered the UCSB Technology Management Program’s New Venture Competition and won the Market Pull Track with the idea for a bird identification app call Birdeez. EcoLek was formed by Kuo and Simeon, recent Bren School master’s program graduate, and Patrick Toerner, recent business economics graduate. The team has since introduced Birdeez to the iPhone app market and attracted the attention of investors at DEMO this year.
Recent Research News
Professor Kaustav Banerjee’s tunnel-FET biosensor in research Highlights of Nature Nanotechnology
Award News
ECE Professor John Bowers named the UCSB Faculty Research Lecturer for 2013
ECE Professor, Kaustav Banerjee, appointed as a Guest Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University