Veteran faculty member selected for Symetrix chair
Feb. 26, 2008
Contact: Tom Hutton, University Relations, (719) 262-3439, thutton@uccs.edu
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — A professor whose work revolutionized cell phones and other electronic devices will be the Symetrix Chair of Device Science and Technology at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
Carlos Araujo, a 25-year member of the faculty and professor of electrical and computer engineering, will continue his research in applied electronics including technology to improve vision, detect disease, and to assist older Americans.
“This named chair position, made possible with generous funding from Symetrix Corporation, recognizes the leadership and achievements of Dr. Araujo,” Jeremy Haefner, dean, Engineering and Applied Sciences, said. “Additionally, it ensures that he continues to pursue innovations that have the promise to positively affect lives and improve the human condition.”
The position will allow Araujo to pursue research in micro electronics and nano electronics, independently and in cooperation with other parts of the university including the assisted-living work done by Sara Qualls, professor, Psychology. Symetrix Corp., a Colorado Springs-based technology company, contributed more than $600,000 to the CU Foundation to create the chair position.
Araujo is considered a pioneer in the area of ferroelectric random access memory, a critical infrastructure for the development of cell phones, and other computer-related technologies such as smart cards which are used in thousands of applications ranging from ATM machines to toll roads. In 2006, he became the first American university professor to receive the Daniel E. Noble Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The award, named in honor of a former Motorola executive, recognizes outstanding contribution to emerging technologies.
Araujo joined the UCCS faculty in 1983 as an assistant professor. He was named associate professor in 1988 and professor in 1991. He has served as assistant dean of research and was named a CU outstanding faculty member. He also is editor of the “Journal of Integrated Ferroelectrics” and has edited two books on ferroelectrics, holds 176 patents and is author or co-author of more than 286 scholarly papers on ferroelectrics. He is a founder of Ramtron and Symetrix Corp. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.
Colorado Springs-based Symetrix Corporation was founded in 1986 by Araujo, Larry D. McMillan and others. Since then, Symetrix Corporation has grown to become a major intellectual property company doing advanced materials and process research for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Symetrix has made significant advancements in device modeling, integrated circuit device physics, chemistry, thin film materials, semiconductor processing, non-volatile memory design and many other disciplines.
The main technological achievement of Symetrix Corporation has been to develop complete compatibility between the standard CMOS semiconductor process and the layered perovskite ferroelectric materials now being used to make high-density non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories. Symetrix Corporation now controls a valuable portfolio of patents in the U.S. and the world and has licensed many of these patents to major semiconductor companies in Japan, Korea, Europe and the U.S.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 29 bachelor’s degrees, 18 master’s and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,700 students.
