Oct. 21, 2002

New CIE Director Named

Omkaram "Om" Nalamasu, an international expert in micro- and nanoelectronics, has been named director of Rensselaer's Center for Integrated Electronics (CIE). He will begin his tenure Oct. 23.

"Dr. Nalamasu brings to Rensselaer a wealth of research experience in micro- and nano-electronics and microsystems," said President Jackson. "With strengths at the crossroads of chemistry, materials science, optics, electronics, and engineering, his notable accomplishments will further drive the center to prominence. Dr. Nalamasu's management prowess and his ability to lead multidisciplinary teams are aligned with the goals of The Rensselaer Plan. We enthusiastically welcome him."

Rensselaer's Center for Integrated Electronics is a major research center with approximately $8.7 million of funded research annually. Programs include major activities in gigascale interconnect research, three-dimensional interconnect structures, materials properties and process modeling, wide-bandgap semiconductors and devices, terahertz devices and imaging systems, power electronic devices and systems, and biochips. Facilities include a 10,000-square-foot class 100 clean room, which currently is being upgraded to support eight-inch silicon wafer technology.

Nalamasu will provide strategic vision, technical direction, and research and management guidance to the center's faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, he will develop research proposals and programs, foster collaboration with industry, and interact with partnering universities and federal laboratories.

"I am very impressed with Rensselaer's inspiring leadership, extraordinary vision, and vibrant research environment," said Nalamasu.

Nalamasu held several key research and development leadership positions in the areas of microfabrication, microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) and waveguide devices, condensed matter physics, optical lithography, and imaging materials at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies, and Agere Systems in Murray Hill, N.J. In those positions, he managed R&D technology development, technology transfer, and commercialization, as well as intellectual property.

Currently he is the director of Bell Laboratories' Nanofabrication Research Laboratory in Murray Hill. That laboratory includes a state-of-the-art nanofabrication class 100 clean room and electron-beam lithography operations. In addition to his Rensselaer center directorship, Nalamasu is the chief technical officer of the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium, a public/private nonprofit enterprise he co-founded to foster nanotechnology partnerships across academia, industry, and government. Rensselaer is a partner in that consortium. The goals of the consortium include fostering leading-edge basic and applied research in nanotechnology and workforce training. Additionally the consortium has a positive economic impact on the Northeast as a prototyping resource to small, medium, and large companies.