ASU professor named AAAS Fellow for nanoelectronics research

Stephen Goodnick has built his career around the study of nanoelectronics. The David and Darleen Ferry Professor of Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University has focused his research on using tiny nano-sized electronic components to advance the fields they are used in, such as future information technology and solar power generation. Specifically, he hopes to improve capabilities of information technology and to make solar power generation more efficient and affordable.

In recognition of his nanoelectronics research career, which spans more than 40 years, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, named Goodnick one of 505 fellows of 2022. Goodnick, an AAAS member since 2001 and a faculty member in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, is one of four fellows from ASU named in 2022 among a cohort from around the world.

According to the AAAS, the title of AAAS Fellow “honors members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues.”

“It was actually kind of a surprise,” Goodnick says of being named a fellow. “I didn’t know I had been nominated. I was very honored to have that recognition completely out of the blue.”

The AAAS dedicates itself to advancing scientific discoveries that benefit all of humanity. Its programs advocate for investment in scientific research and evidence-based public policy, encourage diversity in scientific fields, support science education and more.

“Such a prestigious organization as the AAAS awarding the title of fellow to Professor Goodnick is a great recognition of his many contributions to areas related to nanoelectronics,” says Stephen Phillips, director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. “This is an honor for Professor Goodnick that builds on his many previous recognitions and adds to the growing list of accomplishments of the faculty in our school.”

Goodnick has worked at ASU since 1996, starting as a professor of electrical engineering and chair of the former Department of Electrical Engineering, which evolved to become the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. During his time at ASU, he has worked as associate vice president for research, interim deputy dean for the Fulton Schools, and deputy director for both the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center and ASU’s LightWorks research collaboration.

Before ASU, Goodnick held positions as a faculty member at Oregon State University and Colorado State University. He has also served as a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow, and earlier as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Technical University of Munich, a visiting professor at Japan’s Osaka University, the Melchor Visiting Chair at the University of Notre Dame and a visiting scientist at Italy’s Universitá di Modena.

Past accolades awarded to Goodnick include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, Region 6 Outstanding Educator Award, the IEEE Phoenix Section Outstanding Faculty Award, the American Society for Engineering Education Electrical and Computer Engineering Division Meritorious Service Award, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award.

Goodnick has also maintained involvement in numerous professional societies, including the IEEE, the American Physical Society and Optica, formerly known as the Optical Society of America, among others.

The ceremony for AAAS Fellows, where Goodnick and the other 2022 fellows’ election will be celebrated and each fellow receives a commemorative pin, will take place this summer in Washington, D.C.