Jim Bain

Professor Jim Bain is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), with a courtesy appointment in Materials Science and Engineering. He serves as Associate Department Head for Academic Affairs (since 2018) and Associate Director of the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC). Bain holds a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania (1988) and M.S./Ph.D. from Stanford University (1991/1993), both in Materials Science and Engineering.

His research focuses on magnetic, optical, and thermal devices/materials for information storage, including heat-assisted magnetic recording and resistive switches for memory. He co-authored over 225 papers and led initiatives in storage systems architecture, thin-film materials fabrication, and energy-efficient storage solutions. Bain is a senior member of IEEE Magnetics, IEEE Electron Devices, and IEEE Photonics Societies.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 1993
  • M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 1991
  • B.S.E. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1988

Key Contributions:

• Overhauled ECE's undergraduate course 18-100 (Introduction to ECE)
• Streamlined graduate student processes (qualifying exams, petitions)
• Recipient of 2016 IEEE ICC Best Paper Award for work on resistive memory codes

Research Labs/Teams:

• Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC)
• Multidisciplinary collaborations with Western Digital Research