About
Debdeep Jena is the David E. Burr Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, holding appointments in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, and serving as a field member in Applied and Engineering Physics. He joined Cornell in 2015 after twelve years on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame.
Professor Jena's research focuses on the quantum physics of semiconductors and electronic/photonic devices based on quantized semiconductor structures. His work spans Nitrides, Oxides, and 2D Materials, with applications in energy-efficient transistors, LEDs, RF and power electronics, and quantum computation. His group explores the fundamental limits of computation, memory, and communications by exploiting new physics in semiconductor devices, particularly investigating ultrahigh-speed GaN and AlN transistors, ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors for power electronics, deep-UV LEDs and lasers, and novel materials for quantum computing.
His recent publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory toward integrating semiconductors with superconductors, ferroelectrics, and magnets to create hybrid quantum systems. This research direction aims to overcome classical device limits while dramatically improving energy efficiency across computing, communications, and power management applications from the chip to the grid level.
- Art Gossard MBE Innovator Award, North American Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (NAMBE) 2024
- Intel Outstanding Researcher Award 2020
- David Burr Chair Professor of Engineering 2020
- Fellow, American Physical Society 2016
- MBE Young Scientist Award 2014
- IBM Faculty Award 2012
Professor Jena leads a $34 million research center focused on energy-efficient semiconductor materials and technologies. His research group actively engages in materials synthesis using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) while collaborating with theoretical physicists to develop comprehensive understanding of electron transport, light-matter interactions, and correlated electron physics. In 2022, he published the textbook 'Quantum Physics of Semiconductor Materials and Devices' through Oxford University Press, which has become a top seller in solid-state physics and electromagnetism categories.
The Jena research group operates at the intersection of multiple advanced materials systems, maintaining expertise in Nitride Electronics, Oxide Electronics, UV Lasers/Photonics, 2D Materials, Ultrapolar/Ferro Semiconductors, and Super/Semi Electronics. Their work spans fundamental materials science to device engineering, with strong connections to energy systems, advanced materials processing, and quantum information science applications.
