Education

1967 – 1971 Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Pa, USA

1963 – 1967 B.A., Physics, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., USA

Work Experience (most recent)

• 1990 – present:     Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Mechanical

Engineering and Professor of Reliability Engineering,

CALCE Research Engineering Center, University of Maryland

UMERC, University of Maryland Energy Research Center,

University of Maryland Nanoscience Center

• 1993 – 2003: Chairman of Department of Materials Science, University of Maryland.
• 1989 – 1990: Professor of Electrical Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
• 1989 – 1993: Professor of Physics, University of Crete, Herakeio Crete.
• 1972 – 1989: Research Physicist, Head of Reliability Science Section, Head of Surface Physics Branch, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC.

Professional Summary

Dr. Christou joined the Naval Research Laboratory as a Researcher from 1971 until 1976, as a Section Head until 1985 and as a Branch Head of Surface Physics until 1989. He then taught briefly at Rutgers University and the University of Crete before joining the University of Maryland in 1990 as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He became a Professor of Materials Engineering in 1993 as well as Professor of Reliability Engineering.

At the University of Maryland, Christou chaired the Department of Materials and Nuclear Engineering (1993 – 2003) and the Materials Science and Engineering Department in 2003.

Dr. Christou directed the NSF University – Industry Cooperative Research Center in Optoelectronic Devices Interconnects and Packaging (COEDIP) from 2002 until 2005. Christou established and directed the NASA – UMD Center on Research in LIDAR technology between 1996 and 2001. In 1989, Christou established the Microelectronics Research Group (MRG) at the University of Crete and the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH).

Research Summary

Prof Christou’s research is focused on compound semiconductor materials, nitride semiconductors and the process science for such materials, radiation effects in materials and devices, manufacturing science of microwave and millimeter wave electronics, and reliability science of high frequency devices. Christou’s work was responsible for the development of solid – state phased array radar as well as GPS systems.

Prof Christou pioneered UV laser processing of GaAs MBE buffer layers through a technique known as LAMBE (Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy). Dr. Christou and his research team led the development of optical interconnects based on GaAs/Si and InGaAs/Si using molecular beam epitaxy as well as the modeling tools for the optical interconnect design.

Dr. Christou designed and demonstrated the selectively oxidized Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) for operation at a wavelength of 1.546 µm and determined performance limitations due to the effects of Bragg mirror interface grading and layer thickness variations. He also developed computational simulations to identify the key sensitivities to VCSEL performance.

Later in his career, Dr. Christou’s research resulted in the development of a model for OLED based flexible display degradation based on the ingress of moisture through the protective barrier films. Christou’s research on flexible displays starting in 2010 resulted in the solution of the fatigue degradation problem and the elimination of line – out defects which plagued the flexible display industry. He was the first to publish S – N fatigue curves for graphene and Indium Tin Oxide interconnects.

Awards and Honors

• 1974 NRL Alan Berman Publication Award
• 1978 – 1983 US Navy Outstanding Service Awards for contributions to solid state electronics, phased array radar and for contributions to reliable microelectronics materials.
• 1981 UNESCO Award for Scientific Excellence and Contributions for Scientific Assistance.
• 1985-1986 Fullbright Scholar Award
• 1987 Millennial Medal for Contributions in Compound Semiconductors, University of Bologna
• 1991 Navy Patent Award for Electron Device Inventions
• 1993 Fellow, IEEE and Life Fellow in 2017.
• 1999 Invention of the Year Award in the Physical Sciences, University of Maryland^[8]
• 1999-2002 IEEE National Lecturer in Electron Devices
• 2000 IEEE National Lecturer in Optoelectronic Devices and Device and Materials Reliability Physics
• 2001-2012 IEEE Electron Devices Society Recognition and Contributions Service Award^[9]
• 2004 iNEER Lifetime Achievement Award for Achievement on International Engineering Education and Research
• 2007 Burgess Memorial Award for Seminal Contributions to Electronic Materials, Packaging and Devices, ASM^[10]
• 2012 Micro & Nano Scientific Society Award of the MNE Annual Conference, Heraklio Crete.
• 1980-1989 The Naval Research Laboratory Outstanding Performance Awards.
• 2019, 2020 Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (NN-19, NN-20) Keynote Speaker.
• 2020- ESREF Society, Keynote Speaker at the European Electronics Reliability Conference.

Publications

Professor Christou has published over 300 papers in well recognized scientific journals on the subjects of semiconductor materials, device physics and reliability. His work has appeared in international journals and conferences. His publication record also includes the following books:

• Integrating Reliability into Microcircuit Manufacturing (1994) ISBN 978 – 0471944072
• Electromigration and Electronic Device Degradation (1994) ISBN 978 – 0471584896
• Reliability of Gallium Arsenide Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (1995) ISBN 978 – 0471961611
• Reliability of High Temperature Electronics (1996) ISBN 978 – 0965266949
• Photonic Materials, Devices and Reliability (2006) ISBN 978 – 1933904047

Professional Societies and Editorial Boards

Dr. Christou is a life fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as well as other professional societies such as MRS, TMS and SPIE. He has been the Editor of Materials Science and Engineering, and of Reliability and Quality International and previous co – editor of the IEEE Transactions of Devices Materials and Reliability.