Jia named IEEE fellow

Quanxi Jia, a world-renowned scholar in materials science at UB, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Jia is the Empire Innovation Professor and National Grid Professor of Materials Research in the Department of Materials Design and Innovation (MDI). He also serves as scientific director of UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI).

The grade of fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. It is the highest grade of membership and is considered by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Jia was recognized in particular for his contributions to coated superconductors and metal-oxide thin films for electronic applications.

Coated superconductors, also known as second-generation superconducting tapes, are critical elements for magnets, motors and power transmission lines. Metal-oxides, due to their multi-functionalities and superior properties under extreme conditions, have had profound impacts on the development of next-generation electronic devices.

“Quanxi’s election to a fellow of IEEE reflects the innovative contributions he has made in the field of materials science. His work exemplifies the mission of the Department of Materials Design and Innovation of advancing novel methods in materials discovery and design,” says Krishna Rajan, Erich Bloch Endowed Chair of MDI.

A collaboration between the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the College of Arts of Sciences, MDI was launched in 2014 to apply information science methods to advanced materials research.

Prior to joining UB last year, Jia directed the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. Department of Energy nanoscale science research center operated jointly by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

His research areas include the synthesis and study of structure-property relationships of nanostructured materials, multifunctional materials and thin films; development of innovative deposition techniques for the growth of electronic materials; and development and fabrication of high-temperature superconducting films, novel solid-state microelectronic and electro-optic devices.

He has authored or co-authored more than 470 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered more than 100 invited lectures and holds 48 U.S. patents. He serves as co-editor-in-chief of Materials Research Letters, and sits on the editorial board of several academic and professional journals.

Among his many awards and honors are two prestigious R&D 100 awards, the 2005 Asian-American Engineer of the Year Award and the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer. He is an elected fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Materials Research Society, American Physical Society, American Ceramic Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Jia received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Xian Jiaotong University, China, and a PhD in the same field from UB in 1991.