Huili Grace Xing elevated to IEEE Fellow

The IEEE Board of Directors has named Professor Huili Grace Xing an IEEE Fellow, recognized for contributions to GaN high-electron-mobility transistors. Xing is the William L. Quackenbush Professor of Engineering and Associate Dean on Research and Graduate Studies.

Xing’s research is focused on fundamental work toward next generation electronic materials and devices. “We are currently engaged in doping science in polar semiconductors, ultrawide bandgap semiconductors for energy-efficient and agile power electronics, deep UV light emitters, quantum materials and technologies for secure communication and complex problem solving,” Xing said.

Xing received a B.S. in Physics from Peking University before moving to the United States where she earned a Master's degree in Material Science and Engineering at Lehigh University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Xing arrived in 2015 at Cornell’s College of Engineering with a joint appointment in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Material Science and Engineering. Working alongside her husband and colleague Professor Debdeep Jena in the Jena-Xing Lab, they jointly advise more than 35 researchers annually. Their research group currently has members from 13 different countries and regions around the globe. She was elected the first William L. Quackenbush Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Xing’s career in Cornell Engineering has been marked by many significant scientific and leadership achievements. She led a team of faculty to develop GaN THz transistors sponsored by DARPA and ONR; she led a university-industry joint team under the ARPAe SWITCHES program and created GaN power diodes capable of serving as the building blocks for future GaN power switches. Additionally, Xing recently led an interdisciplinary team investigating durable, energy-efficient, pausable processing in polymorphic memories (DEEP3M), where computational capabilities are pushed directly into the high-capacity memories. This center has been jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement. Each year, following a rigorous evaluation procedure, the IEEE Fellow Committee recommends a select group of recipients for elevation to IEEE Fellow. Less than 0.1% of voting members are selected annually for this member grade elevation.

“It is a joy to be recognized,” Xing said, “but it is also humbling since IEEE is full of top talents. IEEE engineers have always been at the forefront of technological innovations.  At moments such as this, I am most grateful to my mentors, students and colleagues as well as my family.”

With more than 400,000 members in 160 countries, IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity, in a wide variety of research areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. The association publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields and has developed more than 1300 active industry standards.  

To learn more about IEEE or the IEEE Fellow Program, visit ieee.org.