UH Chemical Engineering Professor Demetre Economou has been selected as the 2002 recipient of the Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award "for distinguished contributions to scientific knowledge and its applications." He will be presenting his award lecture in W122 Engineering Bldg 2 on Friday, Dec. 6, at 10:30 a.m. The lecture is titled, "All in a Grain of Sand: The Microelectronics Revolution."
Economou will discuss how the integrated circuit (IC) industry has evolved since the invention of the transistor 50 years ago, and how it keeps delivering faster, more powerful chips at lower unit cost. He will examine the most critical unit operations involved in integrated circuit manufacturing, placing special emphasis on plasma processing, an enabling technology used to engrave patterns with nanoscale precision. Challenges facing the industry and proposed solutions will also be discussed.
His award, given by the Houston chapter of the organization, includes a $2,000 prize. There will be food and beverages available in the Engineering Commons after the seminar.
Economou received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1986. He is a John and Rebecca Moores Professor and the Associate Chairman of the Chemical Engineering department.
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, which was founded in 1886, is a nonprofit organization of nearly 75,000 scientists and engineers who were elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential. Sigma Xi has more than 500 chapters at universities and colleges, government laboratories and industry research centers.
In addition to publishing the popular magazine American Scientist, Sigma Xi awards grants annually to promising young researchers, holds forums on critical issues at the intersection of science and society, and sponsors a variety of programs supporting honor in science and engineering, science education, science policy and the public understanding of science.