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How hands-on experience at WNF led a mechanical engineering student to Intel

Four years ago, as an Engineering Dean’s Scholar, Jimmy Phan was listening to a lecture from the College of Engineering’s associate dean, Dan Ratner. Ratner told Phan’s cohort about the Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), an open-access nanofabrication facility at the UW, and the opportunities for undergraduates to work there.

Precision at the smallest scale

Step inside the Washington Nanofabrication Facility, where tiny tech is transforming research in quantum, chips, medicine and more.

Matthew Yankowitz receives NSF CAREER Award

Matthew Yankowitz, assistant professor of physics in the College of Arts & Sciences and of materials science and engineering in the College of Engineering, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the most prestigious award given by the NSF in support of junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research. The five-year award will provide $650,000 of funding to support Yankowitz’s research.

Serena Eley — studying superconductivity, magnetism, and disorder in quantum materials

March 3, 2025
Superconductors and magnets are already in wide use today — from magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scanners that look deep inside the body to gamma ray detectors of clandestine nuclear material to bolometers used in x-ray astronomy. They have been implemented in medical, military, security, and power applications as well as quantum computing and sensing. Because Eley’s research contributes to expanding fundamental knowledge about superconductivity and magnetism, her work could contribute to advancing technology in all of these areas.