| Apr 19, 2011 |
Alexander Balandin to receive the IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology for 2011
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(Nanowerk News) Dr. Alexander A. Balandin, professor of electrical engineering professor and founding chair of materials science and engineering at the University of California – Riverside (UCR), was selected to receive the IEEE Pioneer of Nanotechnology Award for the year of 2011. On April 15, 2011, the decision was announced by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council. The IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology recognizes individuals who by virtue of initiating new areas of research, development or engineering have had a significant and transformative impact on the field of nanotechnology.
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Professor Balandin is cited for "pioneering contributions to nanoscale phonon transport with applications in nanodevices, graphene devices, thermoelectric and thermal management of advanced electronics". The Pioneer Award is administered by the Nanotechnology Council, which consists of 21 IEEE member societies. The award recognizes individuals whose technical achievements go beyond the borders of individual technical societies. The main considerations for selecting the award recipients include distinctive long-term technical achievements, research leadership, innovation, and impact on nanotechnology and engineering.
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Balandin becomes the first professor in the University of California system to receive the Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology. Among the previous recipients of this prestigious award are such internationally renowned scientists as Dr. Phaedon Avouris, The Nanoscale Science and Technology Group Leader at IBM T.J. Watson Research Centre, New York; Dr. Sajeev John, University Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto; Dr. Mark Reed, Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and Director of the Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering at Yale University; Dr. Pallab Bhattacharya, Charles M. Vest Distinguished University Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan; and other distinguished professors.
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Since 1997, Professor Balandin has been developing the concept of nanoscale phonon engineering and its applications to heat removal from advanced electronic chips and renewable energy conversion. In 2008, his research group made an important discovery of extremely high intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene and explained it theoretically (see for instance: "'Cool' graphene might be ideal for thermal management in nanoelectronics"). In order to perform the first measurements of heat conduction in graphene, Professor Balandin invented a new experimental optothermal technique based on Raman spectroscopy. In just a few years, investigation of heat transport in graphene and graphene thermal management applications became important sub-fields of graphene research and nanotechnology.
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Each year, the IEEE Nanotechnology Council grants one or two Pioneer Awards. In the latter case, one award recipient is selected among academics, i.e. persons employed by universities, and one – among researchers employed by industry or government organizations. Traditionally, the awardees are invited to give a plenary address and receive honorarium and a commemorative plaque at the IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology (NANO). Professor Balandin will deliver his plenary talk and receive recognitions at the IEEE NANO 2011 Conference in Portland, Oregon on Monday, August 15, 2011. NANO is the flagship IEEE conference in nanotechnology for students, educators, researchers, scientists and engineers alike, working at the interface of nanotechnology and the many fields of electronic materials, photonics, bio-and medical devices, alternative energy, environmental protection, and multiple areas of current and future electrical and electronic applications.
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Alexander A. Balandin received his B.S. (1989) and M.S. (1991) degrees Summa Cum Laude in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Dolgoprudny, Russia. He received his M.S. (1995) and Ph.D. (1997) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, USA. Upon graduate with the doctoral degree, he took a position of a Research Engineer at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1997 to 1999. In 1999 he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California – Riverside (UCR), where he is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering. He leads the Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL), which he organized in 2000. In 2005 he was a Visiting Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2007 he became a Founding Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E) at UCR. In such a capacity he led the campus efforts for introducing BS, MS and PhD degree programs in MS&E with the focus on nanotechnology and materials for energy generation and storage.
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