TROY, NY — Toh-Ming Lu, the R.P. Baker Distinguished Professor of Physics and director of the Center for Advanced Interconnect Systems Technologies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been selected to receive the 2004 Materials Research Society (MRS) Medal, according to MRS’s announcement of three Medal recipients. Lu will be honored at the MRS Fall 2004 Meeting in Boston on Dec. 1.

Photo by Thomas Griffin

“Professor Lu is an international leader in research efforts to define the physical, electrical, and optical properties of thin-film materials. His work is providing a better understanding of thin-film materials for future nanotechnology applications in electronics,” said Provost G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “We join in applauding Professor Lu for his groundbreaking work and congratulate him on this honor and recognition by the Materials Research Society.”

The MRS Medal recognizes a specific outstanding recent discovery or advancement that is expected to have a major impact on the progress of any materials-related field. Lu is being honored for significant contributions to understanding mechanisms of thin-film surface and interface morphology evolution and establishing the foundations of diffraction and scattering methods for quantitative analysis.

“Toh-Ming Lu is an outstanding educator who richly deserves this award by the Materials Research Society,” said Sam Wait, associate dean of science.

Lu joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1982. As director of the Center for Advanced Interconnect Systems Technology (CAIST), Lu provides leadership to faculty and graduate students at 13 universities nationwide involved in interdisciplinary research on an ultra-fast computer chip. He has written or co-written more than 350 peer-reviewed journal publications and several books about surface ordering and thin-film processing. A fellow of the American Physical Society and American Vacuum Society, Lu has received numerous honors, including Rensselaer’s Early Career Award in 1986, the Semiconductor Research Corporation Invention Award in 1988, the Rensselaer Center for Integrated Electronics Faculty Award in 1993, and the Williams Wiley Distinguished Faculty Award in 2002.

Lu earned a doctorate in physics from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a bachelor’s of science in physics from Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

Contact: Tiffany Lohwater
Phone: (518) 276-6542
E-mail: lohwat@rpi.edu