This special symposium honors the extraordinary career of Professor Gary Rubloff and his lasting impact on integrated semiconductor processing, surface science, and thin-film materials synthesis. Throughout his career, Prof. Rubloff pioneered the use of standard semiconductor equipment, surface-science fundamentals, and thin-film synthesis & processing to enable technologies with applications spanning semiconductor manufacturing, biomaterials, and vapor-phase thin-film synthesis. His work has culminated in recent advances in thin-film ionic materials, helping define new paradigms at the nexus of electrochemistry and microelectronics, grounded in surface science. The symposium highlights the historical and broad connections between seemingly disparate research areas that are unified through Prof. Rubloff’s ingenuity, leadership, and passion. Contributions will span fundamental thin-film synthesis and processes that leverage established semiconductor design rules and toolsets toward emerging applications in biological, ceramic, and iontronic materials systems.
Areas of Interest: This special symposium will be a celebration of Professor Gary W. Rubloff’s storied career from Chicago to IBM, North Carolina, and finally Maryland. We welcome submissions from those who were inspired by Professor Rubloff over the years focusing on advancing atomic- and nanoscale materials synthesis, characterization, and integration for next-generation electronic, energy, and q functional device architectures.
- Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Vapor-Phase Chemistry
- Cell Signaling and Functional Biological Interfaces
- Thin-Film Solid-State Batteries and Micro-Energy Storage
- Interfaces, Defects, and Nanoscale Transport Phenomena
- In situ and operando Characterization of Thin Films
- Materials for Microelectronics, MEMS, and Neuromorphic Devices
- Scalable Manufacturing and Integration of Functional Thin Films
- Cross-Disciplinary Platforms for Scientific Discovery
GWR1: From Ionic Crystals to Ionic Conductivity: A Special Celebration of Gary W. Rubloff’s 50+ Years in Science Oral Session
Invited Speakers:
- Mariano Anderle, Trento University, Italy, “Doing Science with Gary: Accuracy, Elegance and Pleasure”
- Alain Diebold, University of Albany, “Advancing New Semiconductor Materials and Devices Through Characterization and Metrology”
- Daniela Fontecha, University of Maryland, College Park
- Reza Ghodssi, University of Maryland, College Park
- Xiaolong Luo, Catholic University of America
- Alec Talin, Sandia National Laboratories
GWR2: From Ionic Crystals to Ionic Conductivity: A Special Celebration of Gary W. Rubloff’s 50+ Years in Science Poster Session