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Sanjay Krishna Named UNM Regents' Lecturer

October 19, 2009

The School of Engineering has named Sanjay Krishna, associate professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering, a UNM Regents' Lecturer in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments and leadership in teaching, research, and service. The School of Engineering also named Abhaya Datye, Distinguished Professor in the Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Department, to a Regents' Professorship.

"Dr. Krishna exemplifies the fact that excellence in teaching and research is synergistic in a major research university; this award allows us to celebrate his cumulative contributions on both fronts," said School of Engineering Interim Dean Arup Maji.

The school is permitted to appoint three Regents posts at a time. The third, a Regents Lectureship, was granted last year to Associate Professor Mahmoud Reda Taha, P.E., Associate Professor in Civil Engineering. All of the posts have three-year terms, and the faculty member retains the title permanently.

Krishna also serves as associate director of UNM's Center for High Technology Materials. He heads a group ofabout 20 researchers who are investigating next-generation infrared sensors based on nanoscale quantum dots and strain-layer superlattices. His group is attempting to realize an “infrared retina,” a biologically inspired sensor design in which the spectrum, polarization and dynamic range can be engineered at the pixel level. The active region of the retina would consist of self-assembled quantum dots or superlattices. He has received more than $10 million in externally funded research grants, including a recent instrumentation grant for about $1 million to purchase a new molecular beam epitaxy reactor.

Krishna is co-founder of ECE’s Expand Your Engineering Skills (EYES) program, which has for several years brought high-caliber international students to ECE for summer research under the guidance of an ECE faculty advisor.

He received the School of Engineering's 2009 Senior Faculty Researcher Award, the Society for Photonics' 2008 Early Career Achievement Award, the IEEE Nanotechnology Council's 2008 Early Career Award, the Defense Intelligence Agency's 2007 Chief Scientist Award, and the North American Molecular Beam Epitaxy's 2007 Young Investigator Award.

Krishna earned his PhD and master's degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, his MSc in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, 1996, and his BSc in Physics (with honors) at SSSIHL in Bangalore, India.

Criteria for selection as a Regents Lecturer are established at the college level, with nominations forwarded by the dean to the provost for a term of appointment of three years. Funded by the UNM Board of Regents, the lectureship was established by the regents in the 1980s.

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