News
Grants, awards, publications, presentations, and milestones from ANNLab, listed from newest to oldest.
2026
October 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu was featured on Arizona Science, the AZPM program heard on NPR 89.1, in an episode titled “Exploring Advanced Nanoelectronics.” In conversation with Prof. Erika Hamden, he discussed how nanotechnology can make electronics stronger under extreme conditions. Listen to the episode.
October 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu, as Principal Investigator, has received a grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Nanoscale Computing Devices and Systems program for research on graphene nanoribbon–based electronics, running from October 2026 through September 2029.
October 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu is now leading the University of Arizona’s part of the Intel Scholarship & Fellowship Program, a collaboration with Northern Arizona University administered by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. The program supports six master’s scholars at the University of Arizona.
September 2026
Congratulations to Muhammed Yusufoglu, who has been selected as a REPLIQA Postdoctoral Fellow. After completing his Ph.D., he will continue in our lab as a postdoctoral researcher, developing graphene nanoribbon–based sensors within the REPLIQA program supported by Google.org and Google Quantum AI.
September 2026
Our lab is part of REPLIQA, the Research Program at the Intersection of Life Sciences & Quantum AI, supported by a $10 million commitment from Google.org. The University of Arizona, led by Regents Professor Dante Lauretta, is one of five participating institutions, and our lab will develop graphene nanoribbon–based quantum sensors. Read the Google Quantum AI announcement and the University of Arizona coverage.
September 2026
Through its Semiconductor Education Pathways Program (SEPP), Intel is supporting a new educator training program at FASTLab, led by Prof. Weigang Wang and Prof. Zafer Mutlu. In two one-week cohorts, 20 Arizona high school teachers will gain hands-on experience in semiconductor fabrication and bring fabricated samples and teaching materials back to their classrooms.
August 2026
We welcome Dr. Ali Taha Habiboglu to our lab as a postdoctoral researcher. Ali completed his Ph.D. with Prof. Weigang Wang in the Department of Physics and joins us through the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, with Prof. Zafer Mutlu as his faculty mentor. He will work on graphene nanoribbon nanoelectronics and fusion technologies. Welcome aboard, Ali!
August 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu has joined the Early Career Editorial Board of Graphene and 2D Materials, a Springer Nature journal dedicated to research on graphene and other two-dimensional materials.
August 2026
Julian Battaglia successfully defended his master’s thesis, “Charge Transport in Chalcopyrite and Its Implications for Leaching Behavior,” on August 6, 2026. His work measured the electronic properties of natural, synthetic, and concentrate chalcopyrite to better understand copper extraction, in collaboration with Prof. Isabel Barton and Prof. Andrew Wessman. We are very happy to share that Julian is joining TSMC. Congratulations, Julian!
August 2026
Congratulations to Liam Ellersick, who received the College of Engineering’s Next Generation of Engineering Professionals Scholarship, awarded to high-achieving first-year graduate students. Selected by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Liam is pursuing his master’s thesis research in our lab.
July 2026
Our graphene nanoribbon radiation sensor research received widespread media coverage, including stories in Phys.org, AAAS/EurekAlert, Interesting Engineering, Nanowerk, the American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear Newswire, The Quantum Insider, Graphene-Info, Technology.org, and many others. The Department of Materials Science and Engineering also featured the study.
July 2026
Our work on graphene nanoribbon radiation sensors was featured by University of Arizona News, highlighting the potential of these devices for radiation monitoring in space systems and future fusion reactors.
July 2026
Our lab has received a grant from the Arizona Commerce Authority through the NNME Southwest Regional Node of the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME), which is supported by NSF and the U.S. Department of Commerce and operated by the SEMI Foundation. The award supports microelectronics education and workforce development at the University of Arizona, with Prof. Krishna Muralidharan as PI and Prof. Zafer Mutlu as Co-PI.
June 2026
Liam Ellersick returned to TSMC’s Arizona Fab in Phoenix for his second summer internship, following his first internship at the site in 2025. After the summer, he will continue in our lab as a master’s student. We wish him a productive summer in the fab.
May 2026
Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta and Muhammed Yusufoglu, whose article “Electrical and Structural Response of Nine-Atom-Wide Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon Transistors to Gamma Irradiation” in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2026) was selected for the journal’s supplementary front cover.
April 2026
Our lab presented at the 2026 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit in Honolulu, Hawai‘i (April 26–May 1), with three talks and three posters. Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta, Howard Yawit, Julian Battaglia, and undergraduate researchers Malcolm Cuthbertson and Ture Gustafson.
March 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave a Chemical and Environmental Engineering department seminar at the University of Arizona on March 30, 2026, titled “Graphene Nanoribbon Transistors: Making Electronics from Molecules,” presenting advances in atomically precise graphene nanoribbons for next-generation nanoelectronics. See the event page.
March 2026
Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta gave a talk in the Materials Science and Engineering department seminar at the University of Arizona titled “Integrating Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons into Electronic Devices.”
March 2026
Congratulations to Yousif Kandelchy of Wayne State University, who received second place for his undergraduate poster at the 2026 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM in Atlanta. Yousif worked at our lab through the NSF NewFoS REM Program in summer 2025, characterizing surface acoustic wave devices under the mentorship of Howard Yawit.
March 2026
Undergraduate researchers Ture Gustafson, Kevin Kraseman, and Yousif Kandelchy presented posters at the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM, held March 19–21, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Their work covered the design, fabrication, and characterization of surface acoustic wave devices and the integration of phononic crystals for advanced RF technologies.
February 2026
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave a talk titled “Nanosensor Strategy for High-Throughput Radiation Sensing” at Arizona–Livermore Days in Tucson on February 26, 2026. The university published a photo gallery from the event.
February 2026
Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta on receiving the University of Arizona Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award, which recognizes exceptional performance in research, communication, leadership, and mentoring.
January 2026
Our lab has been awarded a user program grant at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), a DOE user facility operated by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories. Led by Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta as PI, the project on defect-based radiation sensing in atomically precise graphene nanoribbons provides no-fee facility access through June 2027.
January 2026
Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta and Howard Yawit presented their research on topological acoustic devices at the NewFoS Center Stakeholder Meeting.
January 2026
Howard Yawit gave a talk titled “Phase-Change Material Integration on SAW Delay Lines for Reconfigurable Topological Acoustic RF Devices” at Arizona Photonics Days 2026 in Tucson on January 14, 2026. The conference program has full details.
2025
December 2025
Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta on winning the competitive Postdoctoral Affairs Travel Award, which supported his presentation on graphene nanoribbons at the 2026 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
December 2025
The SEMILITHO capstone team, sponsored by Prof. Zafer Mutlu, won the Craig M. Berge Dean’s Award for Most Outstanding Project at Winter Design Day on December 5, 2025. Thanks to our lab members Muhammed Yusufoglu, Howard Yawit, and Thomas Sweepe for helping with the cleanroom work. Read the announcement.
December 2025
Howard Yawit presented “Laser-Patterned Phononic Lattices on Lithium Niobate for Surface Acoustic Wave Devices” at the 2025 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit in Boston on December 2, 2025. His work focuses on phononic structure engineering for next-generation topological surface acoustic wave technologies.
October 2025
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited talk titled “From Molecules to Logic: Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbon Transistors” at the 2025 Lawrence Symposium on Epitaxy, held October 13–14, 2025, at Arizona State University in Tempe.
October 2025
The Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) released its Microelectronics and Advanced Packaging Technologies (MAPT) Roadmap 2.0. Prof. Zafer Mutlu contributed to the Digital Processing chapter and the Workforce Development chapter, which sets out a framework for strengthening the semiconductor talent pipeline.
September 2025
Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta on a $50K seed grant from the NSF New Frontiers of Sound (NewFoS) Science and Technology Center for his proposal “Topological Terahertz Acoustic Laser in Graphene.” The competitive program supports innovative, high-risk research. See the NewFoS seed projects page.
September 2025
Muhammed Yusufoglu presented his research on direct dielectric deposition on graphene nanoribbon FETs at the SRC TECHCON 2025 Conference in Austin, Texas, on September 7–10. This work is supported by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC).
August 2025
University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella visited our lab during his tour of the NSF New Frontiers of Sound Center. Howard Yawit demonstrated the topological acoustic wave devices he fabricated on large-scale lithium niobate chips, which hold exciting potential for next-generation RF technologies.
August 2025
Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta and Muhammed Yusufoglu presented our latest graphene nanoribbon research at the 39th North American Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (NAMBE 2025) on August 25, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. See the technical program.
August 2025
Thomas Sweepe successfully defended his master’s thesis, “Fabrication and Integration Strategies for Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbon Field-Effect Transistors.” Thomas advanced nanoscale GNRFET fabrication and demonstrated the first GNRFETs made entirely with transferred electrodes. After a 2024 internship at TSMC as an EUV lithography engineer, he joined TSMC after graduation.
July 2025
Muhammed Yusufoglu gave an invited talk titled “Smarter Nanoelectronics with Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons” in the special session on topological materials for electronics at the 25th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE NANO 2025), held July 13–16, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
June 2025
Liam Ellersick joined TSMC’s Arizona Fab in Phoenix as a summer intern. He is the third lab student to take part in a TSMC internship since 2024. We wish him success in this valuable industry experience.
June 2025
Congratulations to Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta, named a 2025 Sursum Fellow through the University of Arizona’s Postdoctoral Research Development Grant (PRDG) program, which supports outstanding postdoctoral scholars in advancing their research and professional development.
May 2025
Shelby Janssen and Thomas Sweepe received the Outstanding Graduating Senior and Outstanding Teaching Assistant awards, respectively, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at a College of Engineering-wide ceremony. Congratulations to both on this well-deserved recognition.
April 2025
Prof. Zafer Mutlu received the Peterson Family Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award from the University of Arizona College of Engineering, recognizing excellence in research, teaching, and mentoring. The award was presented by Dean David Hahn at the college awards ceremony on April 2, 2025.
April 2025
Prof. Zafer Mutlu hosted 14 visitors from RTX (Raytheon) at the University of Arizona. Guests toured several labs, including our lab, and held productive discussions about potential future collaborations.
April 2025
Howard Yawit was named a 2025 recipient of the Arizona Astrobiology Center Seed Grant. His project focuses on the electromagnetic characterization of tardigrades, part of a larger goal of exploring the origins of life in extreme conditions. Congratulations, Howard!
April 2025
Our lab delivered seven presentations (four talks and three posters) at the 2025 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit in Seattle, Washington, April 7–11, 2025, by our postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate researchers. Details are on the meeting profile page.
March 2025
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited talk titled “Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons as Next-Generation Channel Materials for Transistor Scaling Beyond Silicon Limits” at the 22nd IEEE Workshop on Microelectronics and Electron Devices (WMED 2025), held March 28, 2025, at Boise State University.
February 2025
Prof. Zafer Mutlu was selected as a 2025 Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing Fellow (CSM Fellow ’25), contributing to the center’s semiconductor research, education, and workforce development efforts at the University of Arizona.
February 2025
Julian Battaglia and Thomas Sweepe presented their research on the semiconducting properties of chalcopyrite and on atomically precise graphene nanoribbon transistors, respectively, at the MSE Graduate Student Seminar at the University of Arizona.
January 2025
Michael Rafko joined IBM as a Back-End Developer Intern. As the first computer science undergraduate in our lab, he set a high bar. Congratulations, Michael, and best wishes for the road ahead.
January 2025
Our lab joined its first NewFoS Center Stakeholder Meeting, bringing together Co-PIs, industry members, and students. Howard Yawit gave a talk and a poster presentation on designing topological acoustic wave devices for advanced RF technologies. Thanks to the NewFoS team for organizing a great event.
2024
December 2024
Our lab was awarded a user program grant by the Molecular Foundry, a DOE user facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, providing no-fee facility access through November 2026. The project develops atomic layer deposition techniques on graphene nanoribbons for doping and performance enhancement, with Dr. Adam Schwartzberg as host scientist.
October 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu, as Principal Investigator, received a grant from the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub, an ASU-led Microelectronics Commons hub funded by the Department of Defense through the CHIPS and Science Act. The project, renewed for 2025–2026, develops AR/VR modules for cleanroom education with Prof. Mehmet Belviranli (Colorado School of Mines) and Prof. Brian Kim (University of Arizona).
October 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu attended the Microelectronics Commons Annual Meeting and National Semiconductor Technology Center Symposium in Washington, D.C., reconnecting with leaders in the field, including Prof. Tsu-Jae King Liu of UC Berkeley and Prof. Mark S. Lundstrom of Purdue University, whose transistor lectures have taught so many of us.
October 2024
Howard Yawit and Muhammed Yusufoglu presented their research on topological acoustic wave RF devices and atomically precise graphene nanoribbon transistors, respectively, at the MSE Graduate Student Seminar at the University of Arizona.
September 2024
Our lab presented its latest results at the second Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) LMD Annual Review, held September 24–27, 2024, at Intel’s Gordon Moore Park campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. Thanks to Intel’s Novel Devices and Memory Research team for meeting with us to discuss the future of semiconductors and new opportunities.
September 2024
Shelby Janssen, an undergraduate researcher in Materials Science and Engineering, presented her research on the long-term stability of graphene nanoribbon transistors at the SRC TECHCON 2024 Conference in Austin, Texas.
August 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu was selected as a Craig M. Berge Faculty Fellow by the University of Arizona College of Engineering, in recognition of his contributions to research, education, and innovation.
August 2024
Muhammed Yusufoglu and Howard Yawit presented our work on the stability of graphene nanoribbon transistors and on topological acoustic wave devices, respectively, at the Molecular Foundry Annual User Meeting at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in the session “Next-Generation Quantum Materials for Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Microelectronic Devices.”
August 2024
During their trip to Berkeley, Muhammed Yusufoglu, Howard Yawit, and Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta visited the research group of Prof. Michael Crommie at UC Berkeley. Prof. Crommie, a long-standing collaborator, hosted the team for discussions and lab engagement.
July 2024
Muhammed Yusufoglu and Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta attended SEMICON West 2024, a leading microelectronics industry event, in San Francisco, California.
June 2024
Our lab participated in a successful NSF site visit of the New Frontiers of Sound Science and Technology Center, which brought together center members from across the country to discuss research progress and upcoming plans.
June 2024
Muhammed Yusufoglu, Dr. Kentaro Yumigeta, Howard Yawit, and Richard Holloway represented our lab at TechConnect World 2024 in Washington, D.C., with travel support from the Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing.
June 2024
Christina Dinh was featured in a sponsored Harvard Business Review article on how the University of Arizona and other state universities are addressing the semiconductor workforce gap.
May 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu received the Excellence at the Student Interface Award (Most Supportive Junior Faculty) from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He thanks the students who voted, and the department and College of Engineering, for this meaningful recognition.
May 2024
Thomas Sweepe joined TSMC’s new fabrication facility in Phoenix as a summer intern. He is the first lab student, and potentially the first from the University of Arizona, to take part in a TSMC internship.
May 2024
Muhammed Yusufoglu, our lab’s first Ph.D. student, received the Brian Joseph Coppa Graduate Student Endowment Award for his contributions to semiconductors and microelectronics. Thanks to the College of Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
May 2024
Christian Copic graduated with a master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since joining our lab in January 2023, he contributed to projects on the semiconducting properties of chalcopyrite and the electronic behavior of graphene nanoribbon transistors. Christian joined Microsoft as a Silicon Engineer.
May 2024
Christina Dinh, the first student to join our lab, successfully defended her master’s thesis, “Contact Engineering and Reliability of Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbon Transistors.” After making significant contributions to our lab’s research, she joined NXP Semiconductors.
April 2024
Julian Battaglia won first place at the UA/ASU Materials Bowl senior design competition, reclaiming the territorial trophy for the University of Arizona. His project improved the reliability of graphene nanoribbon transistors through encapsulation by atomic layer deposition.
April 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu received courtesy appointments as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (now the School of Electrical, Computing, and Software Engineering) at the University of Arizona.
March 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu delivered an invited seminar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas.
February 2024
Christina Dinh and Muhammed Yusufoglu won second and third place, respectively, for their posters on graphene nanoribbon transistors at the FUSENANO 2024 Workshop. Winners were chosen by the votes of workshop participants from industry and academia.
February 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu organized the FUSENANO 2024 Workshop, “Molecules to Systems: The Future of Semiconductors with 1D & 2D Nanomaterials,” in Tucson. More than 25 invited speakers and panelists and about 150 participants discussed the future of semiconductors. University of Arizona News covered the event.
February 2024
Our lab fabricated its first surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line, with two interdigital transducers patterned on a piezoelectric substrate, at the Optical Sciences Micro/Nano Fabrication Cleanroom. Special recognition goes to Howard Yawit for his key contributions.
January 2024
Prof. Zafer Mutlu was selected as a 2024 Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing Fellow (CSM Fellow ’24), contributing to semiconductor research, education, and workforce development at the University of Arizona.
2023
December 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu attended the 2023 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), a TSMC mini workshop, and the UC Berkeley Alumni Night in San Francisco, reconnecting with mentors including Prof. Chenming Hu, a pioneer of FinFET technology and a former colleague from UC Berkeley EECS.
December 2023
Our article “Contact Engineering for Graphene Nanoribbon Devices” was selected as a Featured Article by Applied Physics Reviews and highlighted on the journal’s website.
December 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu received the George H. Davis Travel Fellowship, established in 2009 by the University of Arizona Foundation to support travel to leading national and international conferences.
November 2023
Christina Dinh was featured in a University of Arizona News article on a $35.5 million award to the College of Engineering to expand its cleanroom, then called the Micro/Nano Fabrication Center and now the NanoFabrication Core Facility.
November 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited talk and chaired a session at the 2023 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit in Boston, Massachusetts.
October 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited talk on graphene nanoribbon transistors to the Advanced Device Research group at Intel Corporation, Components Research.
October 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu and four lab members presented recent results at the first Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) LMD Annual Review in Albany, New York, and toured the Albany NanoTech Complex, including ASML’s state-of-the-art EUV lithography tool.
October 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited seminar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona on October 17, 2023, titled “Graphene Nanoribbon-Based Field-Effect Transistors for High-Performance Logic Technology.”
September 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu joined the newly established $30 million NSF Science and Technology Center for New Frontiers of Sound (NewFoS) as senior personnel. His project develops and characterizes novel topological acoustic wave devices using high-throughput nano- and micro-fabrication for next-generation RF and sensing technologies.
September 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu gave an invited colloquium on graphene nanoribbon transistors in the Department of Physics at the University of Arizona.
September 2023
Christina Dinh presented our research on contact engineering of graphene nanoribbon transistors at the SRC TECHCON 2023 Conference in Austin, Texas.
August 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu, as Co-Principal Investigator, received a research grant from Freeport-McMoRan for the project “Connecting the Leachability of Chalcopyrite to its Mineral Characteristics,” which aims to improve copper extraction by better understanding mineral behavior.
May 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu, as Principal Investigator, received an NSF Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) award for the project “FuSe-TG: Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbon-Based Transistors: Materials, Devices, Circuits, and Systems,” his first NSF-funded project at the University of Arizona.
May 2023
Our lab fabricated its first nanoFET devices, with channel lengths as small as 30 nm, at the Optical Sciences Micro/Nano Fabrication Cleanroom and the NanoFabrication Core Facility. Christina Dinh and Thomas Sweepe contributed significantly to this milestone.
April 2023
Christina Dinh was named the Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s Outstanding Graduating Senior for spring 2023, honored at the College of Engineering ceremony in recognition of her academic excellence and research contributions.
January 2023
Prof. Zafer Mutlu, as Principal Investigator, received his first research grant at the University of Arizona from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) for the project “Smarter Nanoelectronics with Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons.”
January 2023
Christina Dinh, a Materials Science and Engineering student at the University of Arizona, joined our lab as its first student. Welcome, Christina!
2022
December 2022
Prof. Zafer Mutlu attended the 2022 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, where he reconnected with his postdoctoral advisor, Prof. Jeffrey Bokor of UC Berkeley, whose mentorship has been instrumental in his career.
August 2022
Prof. Zafer Mutlu joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor. Read the College of Engineering’s official announcement.
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