Uni Adelaide appoints leading engineering scientist as Head of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Professor Nelson Tansu, a US-based engineering scientist and inventor with an 18-year career of research excellence, has been appointed as the new Head of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) and Professor in Quantum Electronics at the University of Adelaide.

Professor Tansu’s research focus is on the materials, devices, computational sciences, and integrated technologies based on semiconductors. His research has impacted communications, sustainability, solid-state  lighting, power electronics, biomedical sciences, and quantum materials.

“We are delighted to welcome Professor Tansu who will provide outstanding academic leadership to the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,” says the University of Adelaide’s Professor Katrina Falkner,
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering,
Computer and Mathematical Sciences (ECMS).

“He will advance excellence in teaching, ensure that the School produces high-quality student graduates, enable research outputs that have national and international impact, and lead discipline-based and collaborative engagement.

“Professor Tansu will have responsibility for improving research excellence, focus and scale, ensuring excellence in and continuous improvement of students’ learning experience and enhancing effective stakeholder engagement.”

“I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to further solidifying the pre-eminence of the School and the University of Adelaide on the global stage.”Professor Tansu

Professor Tansu comes to Adelaide from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, in the United States, where he is currently the Director of the Center for Photonics and Nanoelectronics, and the Daniel E. '39 and Patricia M. Smith Endowed Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors and has been a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher (2018).

Tansu has 18 US patents and has made important advances to the invention and innovation, fundamental sciences, and device technologies of semiconductors for energy efficiency and photonics. His research has been funded (with a total of US$13.39 million) by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Education (DoED), Department of Defense (DOD), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the US. He has authored more than 155 refereed journals and 310 conference publications, and his work has been cited more than 8,600 times.

“I am delighted to be joining the University of Adelaide. I am impressed with its stature, progress, ambitions, and future directions as well as its culture of excellence in research and teaching, entrepreneurial spirit, ambitious vision, and world-class faculty and facilities,” says Professor Tansu.

“The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering’s impressive disciplinary strengths and the high degree of multidisciplinary culture provide unparalleled foundations for continuing to strengthen and advance it to become one of the pre-eminent programs in the world.

“It is essential for the School to further leverage the University’s strong partnerships with stakeholders in Lot Fourteen, diverse industries in South Australia, Defence Science and Technology, and the Australian Space Agency.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to further solidifying the pre-eminence of the School and the University of Adelaide on the global stage.”

The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is ranked 42 in the world according to the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 11 in the world in the 2021 US News and World Reports Best Global Universities Subject Ranking.

The School is recognised for delivering world-class research, and it is the top-ranked program in the field of electrical and electronic engineering in Australia. Its graduates go on to become leaders in their field and the community. The School is one of eight schools which comprise the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences. The University of Adelaide is ranked 106 in the world in the 2020 QS World University Ranking, and 73 in the world according to the 2021 US News and World Reports Best Global Universities Ranking.

Professor Tansu received his BS and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the United States, in 1998 and 2003, respectively. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Photonics, an open-access and rapid publication journal in optical sciences and engineering. Tansu will take up his post in January 2021.