Deep Jariwala, a nationally recognized leader in quantum materials and next-generation electronic devices, is joining the University of Tennessee’s Tickle College of Engineering as a UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Quantum Devices.
Upon his arrival in January 2027, Jariwala will hold a joint appointment between UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with his academic home in TCE’s Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering.
The Governor’s Chair program works to align the strengths of both UT and ORNL to advance research and talent development and to attract exceptionally accomplished researchers to the region. Jariwala joins 12 other UT-ORNL governor’s chairs working across priority research areas.
“Recruiting governor’s chairs and other preeminent faculty is central to our efforts to elevate the University of Tennessee,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman. “This appointment strengthens our ability to grow in emerging areas like quantum science and engineering while leveraging our partnership with ORNL to create opportunities for students and faculty that no other university can offer.”
Jariwala joins UT after nine years at the the University of Pennsylvania, where he was most recently an associate professor and the Peter and Susanne Armstrong Distinguished Scholar in electrical and systems engineering and materials science and engineering.
“The Governor’s Chair is a very special position,” Jariwala said. “The University of Tennessee has been historically extremely strong in materials, and Oak Ridge National Lab is also one of the Department of Energy’s crown jewels when it comes to materials research. Getting a chance to situate myself at the center of the two is quite appealing.”
Developing next-generation chips
Jariwala is widely recognized for his work at the intersection of novel materials, microelectronics, and computing systems. His research focuses on developing novel materials and “chips of the future” that enable next-generation computing, sensing, and optoelectronic systems that use artificial intelligence.
Given the immense power consumption and energy required to operate AI, Jariwala is focused on making chips more efficient by introducing novel materials in them. This can be done via two broad approaches: by structuring chips more like human brain, which is roughly 1,000 times more efficient than today’s AI hardware, or by employing quantum computing.
“Both of them are rooted in novel materials,” Jariwala said. “… To get to that, you have to start from investigating new phenomena and new materials and then taking them all the way to actually making and designing a chip and implementing it into anapplication.”
As co-founder of Agni Semiconductor, a startup company at the forefront of developing revolutionary memory devices and systems targeting extreme environments, Jariwala believes his background can further accelerate UT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and help “take something from novel basic materials and complete this arc of translation from basic research into something that could be commercialized or made big at scale.”
Developing future engineers
Jariwala will be teaching materials science classes at UT and maintaining a research lab at UT’s Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, which is located at UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm, a hub for collaboration among UT, ORNL, and industry partners.
Jariwala has been recognized for his success in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and developing them into marketable job candidates and sought-after researchers. Jariwala recruits undergraduate students to join his lab early in their college careers to get research experience under their belt before they graduate.
“I want to bring the same method of working with students and postdocs to UT. I want to make sure there are collaborative teams across them,” he said. “One of the things where students get lost typically is if you let them isolate in the lab. But if you make them feel part of a team, they can work together and do some amazing things, especially undergraduate students.”
Before UPenn, Jariwala spent two years at California Institute of Technology as a Resnick Prize Postdoctoral Fellow. He earned his PhD in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University and received his undergraduate degree in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University.
Jariwala has earned numerous awards and honors from organizations such as the American Physical Society, IEEE and Optica. He holds multiple patents, has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications, and currently serves as associate editor for the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters journal.
“The recruitment of Deep Jariwala marks a major milestone for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the college,” MSE Department Head Mohsen Asle Zaeem said. “His appointment brings exceptional vision and momentum that will elevate our national and international leadership in quantum research. This transformative addition further strengthens the MSE research enterprise and deepens our strategic partnership with ORNL.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])