Prof. Mona Jarrahi receives the inaugural Watanabe Excellence in Research Award from the UCLA HSSEAS.

The Watanabe Excellence in Research Award recognizes research contributions of one of the faculty members at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences each year. The award recognizes innovation in pursuing critical research that addresses a major societal challenge and engaging graduate and undergraduate students in the research program.

Prof. Jarrahi’s research is focused on ultrafast electronic and optoelectronic devices and integrated systems for terahertz sensing, imaging, and communication systems.

Although unique potentials of terahertz waves for chemical identification, material characterization, biological sensing, and medical imaging have been recognized for quite a while, the relatively poor performance, higher costs, and bulky nature of current terahertz systems continue to impede their deployment in field settings. Professor Jarrahi’s research group is currently investigating the use of novel materials, nanostructures, quantum well structures, as well as innovative nano-plasmonic and optical concepts to address the performance limitations of existing terahertz systems. In this regard, they have already made significant contributions, advancing the state-of-the-art terahertz devices and systems.

Prof. Jarrahi’s scientific achievements have been recognized by several prestigious awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Moore Inventor Fellowship by Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation; Kavli Fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences, Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Award from the National Academy of Engineering; Early Career Award in Nanotechnology from the IEEE Nanotechnology Council; Outstanding Young Engineer Award from the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society; Booker Fellowship from the National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science; Lot Shafai Mid-Career Distinguished Achievement Award from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society; Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award; Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation; Young Investigator Awards from the Office of Naval Research, Army Research Office, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; the Elizabeth C. Crosby Research Award from the University of Michigan; Distinguished Alumni Award from Sharif University of Technology; and best-paper awards at the International Microwave Symposium, International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation, and International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves.

http://engineering.ucla.edu/celebrating-national-engineers-week-2017-faculty-honorees/