Ray Chen

Ray Chen is the Keys and Joan Curry/Cullen Trust Endowed Chair and Professor in the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He leads the Nanophotonics and Optical Interconnects Research Lab at the Microelectronics Research Center and directs the AFOSR MURI-Center for Power-Efficient Silicon Nanophotonics. His research spans nanophotonics, optical interconnects, phased array antennas, and 3D printed microelectronics, supported by over 150 grants from federal agencies and industry.

• Education: BS Physics (1980, National Tsing Hua University), MS Physics (1983 UC), PhD Electrical Engineering (1988 UC)

Research focuses on nano-photonic devices for bio/EM sensing, laser beam steering, true time delay phased arrays, and 3D-printed microelectronics. His group has produced 970+ publications, 82 patents, and spun off companies like Radiant Research (acquired by Finisar) and Omega Optics.

• Awards: IEEE/OSA/SPIE Fellowships, NASA Technical Achievement Award, and teaching accolades
• Advising: 59 PhD graduates and 41 postdocs, many now faculty globally

Labs/Teams: Director of Microelectronics Research Center, Optical Interconnect Group, and MURI initiatives. Active in tech transfer and industry partnerships.