Three ECE Researchers Among First Class of Craig M. Berge Dean’s Fellows
Half of the fellows are from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. They’ll use their funding to support their work in areas including quantum information processing, wireless security and quantum optics.
Craig M. Berge, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona in 1957, had a successful career in the automotive industry and stayed involved with his alma mater throughout his life. When he passed away in 2017, his wife, Nancy Haddad Berge, made a gift to the college that established a four-year design program and an endowed chair for the dean of engineering. David W. Hahn, the college’s Craig M. Berge dean, created an additional fellowship in 2020 to further the Berge family’s vision of the college leading the way in solving 21st century engineering challenges.
The fellowship, funded at $8,000 annually to support educational and research efforts, is for a three-year term. The first six recipients include three electrical and computer engineering faculty members, as well as one faculty member each from aerospace and mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, and chemical and environmental engineering.
"I'm thrilled to be able to directly support this group of faculty members with the Berge deanship. They were selected from a truly outstanding pool of applicants," Hahn said. "While they come from a variety of disciplines and experience levels, they share a commitment to excellence that makes our college a better place to work and learn."
Ivan Djordjevic is a professor of electrical and computer engineering with a joint appointment in optical sciences. He researches quantum information processing and error correction, wireless communication, quantum networks and advanced optical communications. He is a UA 1885 Society Distinguished Scholar, IEEE fellow and Optical Society fellow. Djordjevic is part of a team building the university’s Interdisciplinary Quantum Information Research and Engineering instrument.
Ming Li is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. He researches information security and privacy, wireless networking, wireless security and cybersecurity, and security in cyberphysical systems. Li is a University Distinguished Scholar and has earned the Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Award to support his work in reconfigurable antennas with wireless networks. He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of the Association for Computing Machinery.
Quntao Zhuang is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering with a joint appointment in optical sciences. He works on applications for quantum information processing and quantum optics, such as quantum communication, entanglement and key distribution. Zhuang is a collaborator in the University of Arizona’s Center for Quantum Networks as well as the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center. He received the 2020 Young Faculty Award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.