Deep Jariwala

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Deep Jariwala

Current Position:
Associate Professor, Peter and Susanne Armstrong Distinguished Scholar

Institution:
University of Pennsylvania

Discipline:
Materials Science & Nanotechnology

Recognized for: Inventing next-generation electronic materials and devices that are advancing computer memory, optical sensors, and quantum technologies, with prototype chips now being built for the aerospace industry.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Electronic and Optical Materials, Semiconductor Devices, Quantum Materials, Microscopy

Previous Positions:

Associate Professor of ESE & MSE, University of Pennsylvania
Assistant Professor of ESE, University of Pennsylvania
Resnick Prize Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology (Advisor: H.A. Atwater)
PhD, Northwestern University (Advisors: M. Hersam, T. Marks)

Research Summary:

Modern-day computer chips rely on silicon, and current chip designs are reaching the limits of what silicon can offer. Work done by Deep Jariwala, PhD seeks to bypass these limits. Jariwala is creating new electronic and light-sensitive materials, including semiconductors only a few atoms thick, building them into high-performing devices. Jariwala’s work is leading us to denser computer memory, more sensitive optical sensors, and novel quantum device technologies. Some of these advances have already reached industry, including prototype memory chips being built for the aerospace industry.

“New materials open doors we didn't know existed—and the most exciting part is seeing discoveries cross from the lab into the real world. I'm honored to be recognized as a Blavatnik Finalist and grateful to my students and collaborators whose creativity has taken us from first demonstrations in the lab to practical applications.”

Key Publications:

  1. D.K. Pradhan, D.C. Moore, G. Kim, Y. He, P. Musavigharavi, K.-H. Kim, N. Sharma, Z. Han, X. Du, V.S. Puli, E.A. Stach, W.J. Kennedy, N.R. Glavin, R.H. Olsson III, D. Jariwala. A scalable ferroelectric non-volatile memory operating at 600 °C. Nature Electronics, 2024.
  2. P. Kumar, J. Lynch, B. Song, H. Ling, F. Barrera, K. Kisslinger, H. Zhang, S.B. Anantharaman, J. Digani, H. Zhu, T.H. Choudhury, C. McAleese, X. Wang, B.R. Conran, O. Whear, M.J. Motala, M. Snure, C. Muratore, J.M. Redwing, N.R. Glavin, E.A. Stach, A.R. Davoyan, D. Jariwala. Light–matter coupling in large-area van der Waals superlattices. Nature Nanotechnology, 2022.
  3. K.-H. Kim, S. Oh, M.M.A. Fiagbenu, J. Zheng, P. Musavigharavi, P. Kumar, N. Trainor, A. Aljarb, Y. Wan, H.M. Kim, K. Katti, S. Song, G. Kim, Z. Tang, J.-H. Fu, M. Hakami, V. Tung, J.M. Redwing, E.A. Stach, R.H. Olsson III, D. Jariwala. Scalable CMOS back-end-of-line-compatible AlScN/two-dimensional channel ferroelectric field-effect transistors. Nature Nanotechnology, 2023.  
  4. S.B. Anantharaman, J. Lynch, M. Aleksich, C.E. Stevens, C. Munley, B. Choi, S. Shenoy, T. Darlington, A. Majumdar, P.J. Schuck, J.R. Hendrickson, J.N. Hohman, D. Jariwala. Ultrastrong light–matter coupling in two-dimensional metal–organic chalcogenolates. Nature Photonics, 2025.

Other Honors:

2026 Optica Fellow, Optica (formerly Optical Society of America)
2025 Early Career Achievement Award (Academic Focus), SPIE (the international society for optics and photonics) Penn Engineering
2025 The Kavli Foundation Early Career Lectureship in Materials Science, Materials Research Society (MRS)
2024 Adolph Lomb Medal, Optica
2023 Peter Mark Memorial Award, American Vacuum Society (AVS)
2023 Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR)
2023 Early Career Award, IEEE Nanotechnology Council
2022 Bell Labs Prize (First Place), Nokia Bell Labs
2022 Young Investigator Award, IEEE Photonics Society
2022 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

In the Media:

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