Alumni

(4)Ph.D., 2022 Yi-Chia Tsai, LinkedIn iconPh.D. Thesis: Theoretical Exploration of Efficiency Droop Mechanisms in III-nitride Visible Light Emitting Diodes (May, 2022)More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: Campus Nominee for CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award Competition , UIUC ECE Nick and Katherine Holonyak, Jr. Outstanding Research AwardeeHonorable Mention in the Lighting R&D Student Poster Competition, Shun Lien Chuang Memorial Award for Excellence in Graduate Education , ACS Omega Front Cover Article , UIUC ECE 443 LEDs and Solar Cells Crosslight Best Project Awardee.

Post-PhD Appointment: Senior Software Algorithm Engineer, ASML Corporation, CA, USA

(3)Ph.D., 2020

M.S., 2017

Richard Liu, LinkedIn iconPh.D. Thesis: Cubic Phase Gallium Nitride Photonics Integrated on Silicon(100) for Next Generation Solid State Lighting (Aug., 2020)More at IDEALS@UIUC

M.S. Thesis: Structural and Optical Properties of Phase Transition Cubic Phase Gallium Nitride for Photonic Devices (Dec., 2017)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Graduate Finalist , National Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalist , SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholar , UIUC Graduate College Image of Research Semi-finalist , UIUC Graduate College Travel Grantee for Dissertation Research , UIUC College of Engineering Yunni & Maxine Pao Memorial Fellow , UIUC ECE Nick and Katherine Holonyak, Jr. Outstanding Research Awardee , CS MANTECH Best Student Paper Awardee , CS MANTECH Travel Awardee , NSF Graduate Research Fellow (declined) , NASA Space Technology Research Fellow.

Post-PhD Appointment: Senior Technical Staff Member, Aerospace Corporation, CA, USA

(2)Ph.D., 2020 Dr. Kihoon Park, LinkedIn iconPh.D. Thesis: Investigation of Generation, Dissipation, and Transport of Heat in GaN Materials for Advanced High-Power Devices (May, 2020)More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: UIUC ECE Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Awardee , List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2019 Fall, ECE 444, TA2019 Spring, ECE 443, TA, 2018 Fall, ECE 444, TA, 2018 Spring, ECE 443, TA).

Post-PhD Appointment: Software Engineer, Intel, Hillsboro, OR, USA

(1)Ph.D., 2020 Dr. Hsuan-Ping Lee, LinkedIn iconPh.D. Thesis: Al2O3-passivated AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors on Si(111) Towards Reliable Terahertz Electronics (May, 2020)More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: UIUC ECE Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Awardee , List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students (2019 Fall, ECE 444, TA2019 Spring, ECE 443, TA2018 Spring, ECE 443, TA), UIUC ECE Ernest A. Reid Fellow , CS MANTECH Travel Awardee , UIUC Graduate College Conference Travel Grant.

Current Appointment: Staff Data Scientist, Intel, Hillsboro, OR, USA

(14)Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2024

Colin Shan, LinkedIn iconAwards: Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium Travel Award ; REU Recipient ; UIUC Office of Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Awardee ; Earl J. Eckel Scholar.

B.S. in: Materials Science and Engineering (Minor in Electrical Engineering)

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

(13)Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2023

Patrick Sear, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Post-graduation Appointment: M.S. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

(12)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2022

Alkesh Sumant, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Senior Thesis: Hydrogen-terminated Diamond MOSFETs for Power Electronics (May, 2022)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Post-graduation Appointment: Integrated Photonics Development Engineer, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MA, USA

(11)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2022

Anna Miller, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Awards: NSF REU Recipient.

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

(10)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2020

Jarod Meyer, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Materials Science and Engineering

Awards: Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium Outstanding Presentation Trophy ,  Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium Travel Award , UIUC Office of Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Awardee , NSF REU Recipient.

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

(9)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2019

Dennis Rich, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering & Engineering Physics

Senior Thesis: Application of Controlled Spalling to Thin-film Lithium Niobate Transducers (Dec., 2018)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: SPIE BACUS Scholar , UIUC ECE Bardeen Undergraduate AwardeeUniversity of Illinois Campus Churchill Scholarship Nominee , UIUC ECE Robert C. MacClinchie Scholar , UIUC Office of Undergraduate Research Research Support Grantee , Michael E. Napier Memorial Awardee , UIUC Campus Honors Program Summer Research Grantee , Goldwater Scholar.

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

Josephine Melia (8)Undergraduate Researcher

B.S., 2018

Josephine Melia, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Engineering Physics

Awards: UIUC Office of Undergraduate Research Research Support Grantee , IEEE Photonics Conference Women in Photonics Travel Grantee.

Current Appointment: Application Engineer, Applied Materials, CA, USA

Joshua Perozek

(7)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2017

Josh Perozek, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering (Minor in Materials Science and Engineering)

Senior Thesis: Thin-film GaN HEMTs For Flexible Electronics (May, 2017)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium Travel Award ,  UIUC Office of Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Awardee , UIUC College of Engineering Scholar , UIUC ECE A. R. “Buck” Knight Awardee , UIUC ECE Distinguished Research Fellow , UIUC Illinois Distinguished Fellow , NSF Graduate Research Honorable Mention.

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA

Ryan Grady

(6)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2017

Ryan Grady, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Senior Thesis: Simulation of Zinc-blende Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistors For Normally-off Operation (May, 2017)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Awards: UIUC ECE Robert C. MacClinchie Scholar , UIUC ECE A. R. “Buck” Knight Awardee , NSF Graduate Research Fellow.

Post-graduation Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

Taiming Zhang

(5)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2017

Taiming Zhang, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Post-graduation Appointment: M.S. Candidate, Stanford University, CA, USA

Estelle Kao

(4)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2017

Estelle Kao, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Engineering Physics

Post-graduation Appointment: Product Development Engineer, Intel, Folsom, CA, USA

Kai Zhang

(3)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2016

Kai Zhang, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Current Appointment: Researcher, AMO GmbH, Aachen, Germany

Begum Kasap

(2)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2016

Begum Kasap, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Senior Thesis: Optimization of Off-State Breakdown Voltage in GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (May, 2016)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Current Appointment: Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

Philip Tsai

(1)

Undergraduate
Researcher

B.S., 2016

Philip Tsai, LinkedIn iconB.S. in: Electrical Engineering

Senior Thesis: Normally-off GaN Transistors (May, 2016)

More at IDEALS@UIUC

Post-graduation Appointment: Process Engineer, Texas Instruments, Dallas, TX, USA

(1)Postdoctoral Research Associate

2020-2022

Dr. Muhammad Ali Johar, LinkedIn iconProject Title: Cubic Gallium Nitride on Silicon as a Scalable Platform for Advanced Energy Devices

Current Appointment: Principal Epitaxy Engineer, Coherent, PA, USA