About

Prof. Clark T.-C. Nguyen received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989, 1991, and 1994, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. In 1995, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science up until mid-2006. In 2006, he joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley, where he is presently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.

From 1995 to 1997, he was a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s New Millennium Integrated Product Development Team on Communications, which roadmapped future communications technologies for NASA use into the turn of the century. His research interests focus upon micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), including integrated micromechanical signal processors and sensors, merged transistor/MEMS circuit design, merged circuit/micromechanical technologies, RF communication architectures, and integrated circuit design and technology.

Prof. Nguyen is perhaps best recognized as a pioneer of vibrating RF MEMS technology, whose research results include the first micromechanical free-free beam and contour-mode disk and ring resonators with Q’s exceeding 42,000 at frequencies up to 3 GHz—still the highest on-chip Q’s of any room temperature device at this frequency; the first VHF micromechanical filter and mixer-filter devices; oscillator circuits referenced to wine-glass disk resonator arrays that achieve phase noise performance commensurate with GSM cellular telephone reference oscillator specifications; the first medium-scale integrated (MSI) micromechanical signal processing circuits; the first micromechanical power amplifier and converter, and the first ultra-low power MEMS-based wireless communication transceivers. Dr. Nguyen’s research group at UC Berkeley is presently investigating extension of the frequency range of micromechanical signal processors (filters and oscillators) into the X-Band range, developing merged circuit/microstructure technologies, studying physical phenomena that influence the frequency stability of micro- and nano-scale mechanical resonators, exploring novel architectures for single-chip transceivers for military and commercial applications using MEMS technologies, developing automatic generation codes for mechanical signal processor design, and designing and implementing novel, completely monolithic integrated sensors.

In 2001, Prof. Nguyen founded Discera, Inc., a company aimed at commercializing communication products based upon MEMS technology, with an initial focus on the very vibrating micromechanical resonators pioneered by his research in past years. He served as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Discera from 2001 to mid-2002. Discera shipped more than 1 million MEMS-based oscillators per month up till late 2013, when it was acquired by Micrel, itself absorbed by Microchip, who continues to sell these oscillators.

In mid-2002, Prof. Nguyen went on leave from the University of Michigan to join the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of DARPA in Arlington, Virginia, where he served as a Program Manager in MEMS technology. At DARPA, from mid-2002 through 2005, Prof. Nguyen created and managed a diverse set of programs that included Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), Micro Power Generation (MPG), Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC), MEMS Exchange (MX), Harsh Environment Robust Micromechanical Technology (HERMIT), Micro Gas Analyzers (MGA), Radio Isotope Micropower Sources (RIMS), RF MEMS Improvement (RFMIP), Navigation-Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG), and Micro Cryogenic Coolers (MCC).

Prof. Nguyen received the 1938E Award for Research and Teaching Excellence from the University of Michigan in 1998, a Univ. of Michigan EECS Departmental Achievement Award in 1999, the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2000, the University of Michigan’s 2001 Henry Russel Award, and a UC Berkeley EECS Department EE Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013. He received the 2006 Cady Award from the IEEE UFFC society and the 2017 IEEE Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems Award. Among his publication accolades are the 2007 IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Best Paper Award, the 2005 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Jack Raper Award for Outstanding Technology Directions, the Best Invited Paper Award at the 2004 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, the 2004 DARPA Tech Best Technical Presentation Award, and together with his students, numerous Best Student Paper Awards at major conferences that include the IEEE Int. Frequency Control Symposium, the IEEE Int. Microelectromechanical Systems Conference, the IEEE Int. Electron Devices Meeting, and the Int. Conf. on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators, & Microsystems (Transducers).

To date, Prof. Nguyen has organized and chaired a total of 37 IEEE and DARPA workshops, and was the Technical Program Chair and General Chair of the 2010 and 2011 IEEE Int. Frequency Control Symposiums; as well as a Co-General Chair of the 2017 IEEE Int. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Conference. Prof. Nguyen is a Fellow of the IEEE and served as President of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (UFFC) Society from 2016-2017. He is presently the Senior Past-President of the society. In 2018, he founded and began a term as President of the IEEE MEMS Technical Community, which intends to transition to an IEEE Council over the next few years.