Jung Han appointed the Norton Professor in Technological Innovation

Jung Han, newly named as the William A. Norton Professor in Technological Innovation, focuses his research on wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, optoelectronic and microelectronic devices, nanoscale materials and devices, semiconductor epitaxy, and hybrid organic-inorganic semiconductors.

Han’s research group works on interdisciplinary topics in electrical engineering, applied physics, material science, and surface chemistry. He and his colleagues investigate the epitaxial science and applications of III-nitride materials. In the past decade, III-nitride materials have enabled crucial technologies such as energy-efficient solid-state illumination and next-generation power electronics.

Han graduated from National Taiwan University and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Purdue University. His graduate and postdoctoral research focused on the crystal growth of II-VI ZnSe compound by molecular beam epitaxy which led to the one of the first demonstrations of solid-state blue-green diode laser. Prior to joining Yale in 2001, Han was a senior technical staff member at Sandia National Laboratories where he pioneered the growth of AlGaN for UV emitters and the use of in-situ diagnostics during crystal growth, the latter has since been adopted worldwide by the LED industry.

Currently the chair of Yale’s Department of Electrical Engineering, Han has also served as a reviewer, panelist, and advisory board member for agencies including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense. He has published more than 220 papers in peer-reviewed journals gathering more than 7,600 citations, and has served as editor of four books and special journal issues. He holds seven U.S. patents and is the co-founder of Saphlux, a startup company based on his inventions in the fabrication of semipolar GaN light emitting diodes. Han has received numerous awards including an Department of Commerce R&D 100 Award, MRS Ribbon Award, and EMC Best Paper Award. Han is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and a fellow of the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.