Zetian Mi receives Wise-Najafi Prize for Engineering Excellence in the Miniature World

Prof. Zetian Mi has received the 2025 Wise-Najafi Prize for Engineering Excellence in the Miniature World, which recognizes outstanding research at the meso-scale, micron-scale, nanoscale, and beyond.

“Zetian has shown exceptional creativity in the science and engineering of miniaturization. His breakthrough research has altered the landscape of optoelectronics and artificial photosynthesis,” said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering.

Mi’s research is focused on the investigation of (ultra)wide bandgap semiconductors and their applications in electronic, photonic, clean energy, and quantum devices and systems. His group has been a leader in developing III-nitride materials and semiconductors, optoelectronic devices, light-emitting diodes, and UV photonics for a range of research applications, including the purification and disinfection of water and air.

He co-founded two companies, NS Nanotech and NX Fuels, to make his university-developed technology available to the public. In 2024, NS Nanotech became the first company to develop a solid-state semiconductor that could produce human-safe disinfecting UV light. They call it the photonic disinfection revolution. 

His more recent company, NX Fuels, is focused on developing green hydrogen using power directly from the sun. With their process, they are able to reduce the use of natural resources and remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, all while cutting costs compared to traditional energy production.

Along the same line of research, he has reached Phase Two of the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot Incubator Prize. 

Mi is director of two different Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURIs). The first, called Tunable III-Nitride Nanostructures for N≡N and C-H Bond Activation, is furthering fundamental research in artificial photosynthesis, which has often been called the Holy Grail of renewable energy.

More recently, he became director of the $7.5M MURI called NanoTOP: Nanoscale and Transduction-Optimized Pristine Ferroelectrics. With this MURI, Mi and his team is developing a new type of ferroelectric semiconductor that could enable microelectronic devices and circuits for high-temperature environments, from space missions close to the Sun to electric vehicle engines, as well as new materials and processes for nonlinear photonics. 

Through all of these activities, Mi has left a trail of research breakthroughs. For example, his group developed some of the world’s smallest, most efficient micro-LED pixels for mobile displays and virtual/augmented reality. His students developed some of the world’s shortest wavelength and most efficient LEDs in the deep UV, as well as the first laser diodes in the UV-C spectrum (200-280 nm), which can replace conventional bulky, toxic, and inefficient mercury/xenon lamps for air purification and disinfection. His group is the first to demonstrate ferroelectricity in a single crystalline compound semiconductor. This new class of semiconductor is being studied by researchers around the world for applications in next-generation nanoscale transistors, memory electronics, acousto-electronic, optoelectronic, and quantum photonic devices. Some of these device technologies have been commercialized. And he continues to develop artificial photosynthesis technology, which is one of the keys to carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability.

Mi’s accomplishments have earned him numerous honors and awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Progress in Quantum Electronics. He has been a Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Nanotechnology Council and IEEE Photonics Society. He received the Science and Engineering Award from the W. M. Keck Foundation, the Editor-in-Chief Choice Award from Photonics Research, the 2024 ISCS Quantum Devices Award, and he is a Fellow of APS, IEEE, Optica, and SPIE.