Professor Jo Shien Ng is stepping down as Departmental Director of Research & Innovation for EEE after holding the position for nearly 4 years. Her successor has been named as Professor Mark Hopkinson who will officially take up the role from the 1st October 2020.
Reflecting on her time as DDRI Professor Ng says "I have been involved in many things as DDRI ranging from the more conventional ones such as REF2021 preparation to the much less anticipated implementation of the return-to-campus process for researchers with our wonderfully efficient Departmental Technical Manager.
The many responsibilities I took on gave me lots of opportunities to learn from colleagues within the department and elsewhere in the faculty, which in turn enabled me to better assist my colleagues in research-related matters."
On what she will focus on now Professor Ng says "I am hoping to now devote some time working on a new spinout company, Phlux, which will commercially exploit some of our recent research discoveries in Avalanche Photodiodes."
Professor Hopkinson is part of the Semiconductor Devices and Materials research group and has been with the Department in an academic position since 2003. Professor Hopkinson's area of research is focussed on semiconductor epitaxy and he is a recognised expert within this field.
On becoming DDRI Professor Hopkinson says "I am pleased to take on this new role and hope I can bring to it my experience of around 30 years in research in the department.
My aim would be to continue to support the department such that it may continue and expand on its excellent research achievements so far. I am particularly looking forward with getting to know a broader range of research activities beyond my own area of semiconductor research. Particular areas of future focus would be to encourage wider collaboration and to seek further knowledge exchange opportunities.
The post Covid-19, post Brexit and post REF landscape will be an interesting and possibly challenging time for research, but with every challenge also comes opportunities."
For more information on the research undertaken by the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering please read our Research Brochure or take a look at our Research Projects.