Harry Atwater

Harry Atwater is currently Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at the California Institute of Technology. His  research interests center around multidisciplinary research on subwavelength-scale photonic devices based on plasmon excitation, propagation and localization, nanocrystal electronic and optoelectronic devices, including silicon nanocrystal nonvolatile memories and LEDs, photovoltaics, and  ferroelectric and piezoelectric active thin film materials and devices.

Atwater received his S.B. (1981), S.M. (1983), and Ph.D. (1987) in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Atwater has consulted extensively for industry and government, and has actively served the materials community in various capacities, including Material Research Society Meeting Chair (1997), Materials Research Society President (2000), AVS Electronic Materials and Processing Division Chair (1999).  In 2001 he served as a Gordon Conference Chair, and in 2008 he will serve as Chair for the Gordon Research Conference on Plasmonics.  He currently serves as Director of Caltech’s Center for Science and Engineering of Materials (an NSF MRSEC; www.csem.caltech.edu), and is also Director of the Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research (www.ccser.caltech.edu). He serves on  the Director’s Review Committee, Chemistry and Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and the Board of Trustees, Gordon Research Conferences.  He has served on the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Division of Materials Sciences Visiting Committee; Stanford University Department of Materials Science and Engineering Visiting Committee; National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research Visiting Committee. Atwater is founder and chief technical advisor for Aonex Corporation.  He is also a editorial board member for Surface Review and Letters.

Atwater has been honored by awards including the Joop Los Fellowship from the Dutch Society for Fundamental Research on Matter, 2005; A.T. & T. Foundation Award, 1990; NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, 1989; IBM Faculty Development Award, 1989-1990; Member, Bohmische Physical Society, 1990; IBM Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1987.