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New Dean Bernhard Leads ND Research Merz Named AAAS Fellow
New Titles and New Faces The Next Big Thing in Computers "Quilted" Circuits
Changing the Guard ND Storm Tracker Honored Top 25 Recognition
Instructor's Global Impact Corke Receives Research Award Professional Progress Award
Big Brother Biometrics Presidential Appointment Capturing Greenhouse Gases
New APS Fellow Magnetic Logic Capturing Greenhouse Gases
New APS Fellow Magnetic Logic Capturing Greenhouse Gases
New APS Fellow Magnetic Logic Capturing Greenhouse Gases
New APS Fellow Magnetic Logic Capturing Greenhouse Gases

NSF CAREER Awards

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Early Career (CAREER) Awards to two Notre Dame faculty members: Debdeep Jena and Douglas Thain. Established in 1995, the CAREER program honors young faculty who exhibit a commitment to conducting research and providing stimulating educational opportunities for students. It is one of the highest honors given by the U.S. government to junior faculty in engineering and science. Competition for CAREER awards is fierce, with a typical success rate between 15 and 20 percent.

An assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Jena’s research focuses on the growth and properties of III-V semiconductors and their application in high-speed devices and photo-voltaics (solar cells) and on the investigation and development of nanoscale, quantum-wire devices. His winning proposal, “Dielectric Engineering of Quantum-wire Solids: Fundamentals to Applications” addresses the fundamental properties of semiconductor nanowires and includes research activities and curricula for undergraduates and graduate students, as well as a high school outreach program. Jena joined the faculty in 2003.

Thain, who joined the University in 2004, is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His project, titled “Data Intensive Grid Computing on Active Storage Clusters,” explores ways to efficiently execute data-intensive scientific workloads by using an array of servers with embedded computational ability. The project will develop new languages, data structures, and algorithms in order to better harness active storage clusters. His proposal also offers hands-on opportunities for student participation.