Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering. The April 2 lecture will feature John Dallesasse, a professor of electrical and computer engineeering. His lecture is titled “You Say You Want a Revolution: The Lasting Impact of Bardeen and Holonyak.”
The bipolar junction transistor and light-emitting diode are two innovations that have made a profound impact on the world. Professors John Bardeen and Nick Holonyak Jr., the respective inventors of these technologies, also have made a lasting impact on the department of electrical and computer engineering at the U. of I., where they spent the majority of their careers. This talk will review the men and their impact – both local and global – and also will look at some of the current work that ties their contributions together.
Dallesasse was a student of Holonyak in the late 1980s. His 20-plus-year career in the optoelectronics industry has taken him from his early role as a researcher for Amoco Technology Company through engineering management at Molex Inc. and executive management at Emcore Corporation and MicroLink Devices Inc. Prior to joining the U. of I. faculty, he was the chief technology officer, vice president and co-founder of Skorpios Technologies Inc., a company involved in the integration of compound semiconductor materials with silicon in a CMOS-compatible process. His research at Illinois is targeting photonic-electronic integration and novel coherent emitters for the mid-IR. His technical contributions include, with Holonyak, the discovery of III-V oxidation, which has become an important process technology in the fabrication of high-speed VCSELs and has been one of the most successful technologies in the university’s patent portfolio.
Refreshments will be served at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, 306 N. Wright St., Urbana. The free lecture is from 10:15-11:15 a.m. in the Grainger Auditorium, just off the lobby.
Metered parking is available on Wright Street south of University Avenue, and in the north parking structure off University Avenue between Mathews and Goodwin avenues.
