Jun Jiao, Ph.D.

Dr. Jun Jiao holds an M.S. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Arizona and is currently a professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering. She is also the director of the Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanofabrication at Portland State University (PSU). Dr. Jiao's principal research interests concern nanoscale materials and the application of analytical techniques of electron microscopy.

Since joining PSU in 1999, Dr. Jiao has successfully initiated several major research activities that have provided a strong foundation for her own research, as well as for research and education at PSU. Her devotion to undergraduate research and education includes advising more than 100 undergraduates on NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) projects during the summer at PSU, and involving high school students in cutting-edge nanoscience research--earning her recognition as the Outstanding Mentor of 2003-04 by Siemens Westinghouse Competition of Math, Science, and Technology. In 2004, she was awarded the John Eliot Outstanding Teacher Award, a recognition based on student nomination. Recently, Dr. Jiao received the President's Diversity Award, recognizing her commitment to providing opportunities for female and minority students to explore their interests in science and engineering.

Through her research, Dr. Jiao has collaborated with local high tech companies such as Intel, FEI, LSI Logic, Sharp Labs of America, Tektronix, Solar World, and local research institutions including Oregon State University, University of Oregon, and Washington State University. In less than nine years at PSU, Dr. Jiao has allocated more than $8 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Petroleum Research Foundation, the Murdock Foundation, FEI Company, Intel Corporation, Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies (ONAMI), and PSU for the establishment of an integrated research, education, and outreach program in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Her current research is focused on the development of nanofabrication techniques for the property-controlled growth of nanotubes and nanowires, and the investigation of carbon nanotubes and semiconductor nanowires as building blocks for nanoelectronic devices and as the new generation of electron field emitters. The results of her nanomaterials research are documented in more than 130 publications in refereed journals as well as two patents.

Dr. Jiao has been invited to national and international conferences and various workshops to give keynote talks and frequently serves as a  panelist for the National Science Foundation’s nanoscience and nanotechnology programs. On May 1, 2003, she was invited by the United States Senators Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to testify in front of the full Committee in Washington, D.C., on legislation - S. 189: "The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act." Her written testimony is in the United States Senators’ record. On June 13, 2005, Dr. Jiao was honored by United States President George W. Bush in the White House with the 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers--the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their research careers whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge.