Shubham Mondal receives Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Outstanding Ph.D. Research

Shubham Mondal, doctoral student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Outstanding Ph.D. Research from the College of Engineering. Mondal’s research is focused on III-Nitride materials, which have emerged as frontrunners in next-generation electronics.

According to Mondal, “III-Nitrides have already made it to the mainstream electronics, they are everywhere: from cell phones and chargers to micro-LED TVs. Now the added reconfigurability of polarization in III-Nitride semiconductors can drive new possibilities in the emerging fields of in-memory computing, artificial visual systems, edge intelligent devices and beyond 5G communication technologies.”

Mondal has been leading several key projects on emerging ferroelectric and piezoelectric III-Nitride materials in Prof. Zetian Mi’s group. Among the lab activities of the team are epitaxial growth of wide-bandgap III-Nitride semiconductors by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), device fabrication in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF), and a wide range of electronic and optical characterizations at the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization (MC)².

He has contributed to several highly technical research advancements over the current state-of-the-art, such as the highest piezoelectric activity reported in ScAlN, first demonstration of epitaxial growth and controllable doping in N-polar wide-bandgap semiconductors on SiC platform, and the first demonstration of III-Nitride based high-performance self-powered reconfigurable photodetectors. 

These and other advancements he has achieved have a direct impact on the viability of III-Nitride materials for future devices.

Mondal has already co-authored 24 journal publications (with 8 as first author), presented his research at six conferences, and is a lead contributor to 7 U.S patent applications. He is a member of the honor societies IEEE Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, and is a board member on the ECE Graduate Student Council. He has also served as a graduate student instructor for EECS 314 (Electrical Circuits, Systems, and Applications). 

He has previously received a U-M Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, the APL Materials Excellence in Research Award, and a scholarship from the Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation. 

Mondal received his bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from the Kalyani Government Engineering College in Koltata, India. At Michigan, he earned a graduate certificate in Entrepreneurship. He is advised by Prof. Zetian Mi.