Imagine a building material that becomes stronger when stress is applied. Imagine being able to produce medications on demand, anywhere, with a 3D printer. Imagine biodegradable plastics with the same durability — but more adaptability — than their petroleum-based counterparts.
Step inside the Washington Nanofabrication Facility, where tiny tech is transforming research in quantum, chips, medicine and more.
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.
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.
Xiaodong Xu, professor of physics in the College of Arts & Sciences and of material sciences and engineering in the College of Engineering, was awarded the NAS Award for Scientific Discovery.
Feb. 11, 2025
Collaboration can be a beautiful thing, especially when people work together to create something new. Take, for example, a longstanding collaboration between Arka Majumdar, a UW professor in electrical and computer engineering and physics, and Felix Heide, an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University. Together, they and their students have produced some eye-popping and groundbreaking research, including shrinking a camera down to the size of a grain of salt while still capturing crisp, clear images.
In the University of Washington’s Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), undergraduate lab assistants have a unique opportunity to receive on-the-job training from research engineers and network with professionals in advanced electronics, nanotechnology, semiconductors and fabrication-related jobs. Fourth-year electrical and computer engineering major Prithvi Krishnaswamy’s work in the WNF helped him land a summer internship at Nvidia, a company that designs hardware and software for the high-performance computing (HPC) market. Krishnaswamy interned at its Durham, North Carolina office.
Three exotic new species of superconductivity were spotted last year, illustrating the myriad ways electrons can join together to form a frictionless quantum soup.
Dec. 14, 2024
Maria Huffman, director of the University of Washington’s Washington Nanofabrication Facility, is part of a new, state-wide group of leaders from universities, research institutions, technology companies and the government who aim to strengthen the state’s semiconductor industry.
The group, organized by the Washington Department of Commerce, will work to attract federal funding through the CHIPS and Sciences Act.
Dec. 16, 2024
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni and graduate students in his lab are part of a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research team developing a new, three-dimensional imaging system for early detection of lung cancer. This disease is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and in the U.S., it accounts for one in five cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society, which notes that early detection is key to survival.