Robert K. Grubbs

ROBERT K. GRUBBS has presently accepted the position of Scientific Director of Thin Films at IMEC in Leuven Belgium. Prior to this newly acquired opportunity, he worked at Micron Technology for eight years in process engineering developing critical films for high density phase change memories and on interfacial engineering for high performance CMOS. Before working at Micron, Robert spent ten years at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) where he designed and implemented the Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) facilities at SNL. These ALD reactors were used to deposit myrid films for both laboratory mission activities and for national security applications. These applications included lubrication for MEMS, nano-structural templating, phase contrast imaging, dielectrics for quantum computing, metamaterial synthesis, and photovoltaic and anti-corrosion coatings. Additionally, he was the design engineer for the explosively driven ferroelectric power supply used for pulsed power applications at SNL.

Grubbs received his BS in Chemistry at Clarkson University in 1990. He continued with his MS at University of CA Berkeley studying the quantum confinement effects in semiconducting nanocrystals. After a three-year stint working for Silicon Valley start-ups developing rechargeable batteries and a biometric blood-glucose meter, Robert completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at University of Colorado, Boulder, studying the nucleation and growth of ALD grown metal films. His subsequent Post Doctorate appointment was at Sandia National Laboratories studying the electrical response of pressure induced phase transitions of exotic perovskite materials. He is the holder of seven patents and has an Hindex of 20.

Robert’s involvement with AVS spans twenty years where he was actively involved in the New Mexico Chapter, held the Chapter, Division and Groups (CDG) chairperson position at the national level, is active in the Thin Film Division (TFD) and is an active AVS short course instructor. In the New Mexico Chapter of AVS, Robert was NM chapter chairperson twice, ran the NM regional science fair for six years, was on the scholarship and finance committees and promoted AVS outreach for women in science.

At the national level he was appointed as the CDG chairperson from 2013 to 2016 where he interacted with all local AVS chapters and provided assessment and support for local chapters that needed revitalization. This position required him to report directly to the AVS board to report on the health and growth opportunities of the extensive AVS local chapter network. He is an active member of the TFD where he has been the chairperson for the TFD awards committee for the last four years. His leadership also extends into the AVS Short Course program where he has been a valued instructor for two courses: Atomic Layer Deposition for seventeen years and Plasma-enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition for two years. His energy and commitment to the growth of AVS is unwavering and he is excited to bring his enthusiasm to the future of AVS if elected to the AVS Board of Directors.