CONTACT NEWS!!! RESEARCH UNIV@BUFFALO
Jonathan Bird, Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo

Jonathan Bird joined the faculty of the UB Department of Electrical Engineering as Professor in Fall 2004. Prior to this, he obtained his B.Sc. (First-Class Honors) and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He was a JSPS visiting fellow at the University of Tsukuba (Japan) from 1991 - 1992, after which he joined the Frontier Research Program of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, also in Japan). In 1997, he was appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University, where he spent seven years before joining UB. Prof. Bird's research is in the area of nanoelectronics. He is the co-author of more than 250 peer-reviewed publications as well as of undergraduate and graduate textbooks.
Research Overview
Prof. Bird and his doctoral students at UB form the key members of NoMaD - the Nanoelectronic Materials and Devices Research Group - which focuses on research in various areas of nanoelectronics:
Quantum transport in mesoscopic structures. Emphasis is on using mesoscopic devices to investigate novel quantum-transport phenomena (quantum interference, quantum size effects, many-body phenomena), with a strong interest in probing the interface between classical and quantum systems. Prior work has explored manifestations of quantum chaos in open quantum dots, studied the sources of decoherence phenomena, and investigated spontaneous spin polarization in quantum wires. Most recent work has explored quantum fluctuations in disordered mesoscopic graphene, and time-resolved transport in nanodevices.
Investigations of novel nanoelectronic-device paradigms. Some of the activities in this area include the study of nanomagnetoelectronic devices, in which single-domain nanomagnets are integrated with semiconductor nanostructures to achieve multiple functionality (logic & memory), and investigations of tunable solid-state THz detectors.
Characterization of novel nanomaterials. We have been exploring the electrical properties of a variety of nanostructured materials, including epitaxially formed silicide films and nanowires, granular nanowires implemented by focused-beam (electron- & ion-beam) techniques, and single-crystal C-60 nanowhiskers.
NoMaD research has been published in more than 270 peer-reviewed publications that have been cited in excess of 2700 times in nearly 1800 peer-reviewed papers, with a corresponding h-index = 28 (statistics exclude self-citations, source: Web of Science). Prof. Bird is also the co-author of an undergraduate textbook (Electronic Materials and Devices, with D. K. Ferry, Academic Press, 2001), the editor of a research monograph (Electron Transport in Quantum Dots, Kluwer-Academic, 2003), and a co-author of the second edition of Transport in Nanostructures (with D. K. Ferry & S. M. Goodnick, Cambridge University Press, 2009).
Brief Biosketch
Education & Appointments
1986 - 1990: B.Sc., Physics, University of Sussex, UK
1986 - 1990: D.Phil., Physics, University of Sussex, UK
1991 - 1992: Research Fellow, University of Tsukuba, Japan
1992 - 1997: Researcher, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Japan
1997 - 2004: Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University
2004 - Present: Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo
2005 - Present: Adjunct Professor, Department of Physics, University at Buffalo
2008 - Present: Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Chiba University, Japan
Sponsored Research Summary
More than $13M of funding (as PI or co-PI) since 1997, from various federal agencies (NSF, DoE, DoD)
Currently funded by DoE & NSF
Supervised 15 PhDs to graduation, currently advising 7 PhD students
Membership of Professional Societies
Fellow: Institute of Physics (2002)
Senior Member: IEEE (2002)
Member: American Physical Society

Honors and Awards
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Visiting Research Fellow (1991)
Fellow: Institute of Physics (2002)
Senior Member: IEEE (2002)
NYSTAR Distinguished Professor of 2003
Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Chiba University, Japan (2008)
UB Exceptional Scholar: Sustained Achievement Award (2008)
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Activities (2012)
Professional Service
Member of the Executive Editorial Board, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Member of Fellowship Panel, The Institute of Physics
Member of the IEEE Technical Committee on Nanoelectronics (NTC TC-6)
Member of UW Madison MRSEC External Advisory Board
Service on the program and publication committees of numerous international conferences and workshops
Panel-review member for several NSF programs (EMT, ITR & SBIR)
Journal reviewer for: Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology, Physics Letters A, Physical Review B, Physical Review Letters, and Semiconductor Science & Technology
Recent Significant Publications
  • T. Kim, R. V. Chamberlin, and J. P. Bird, "Large magnetoresistance of nickel silicide nanowires: Non-equilibrium heating of magnetically-coupled dangling bonds", Nano Lett. 13, 1106 (2013)
  • G. Bohra, R. Somphonsane, N. Aoki, Y. Ochiai, R. Akis, D. K. Ferry, and J. P. Bird, “Nonergodicity and microscopic symmetry breaking of the conductance fluctuations in disordered mesoscopic graphene”, Phys. Rev. B 86, 161405(R) (2012)
  • Z. Chen, T.-Y. Lin, X. Wei, M. Matsunaga, T. Doi, Y. Ochiai, N. Aoki, and J. P. Bird, “The magnetic Y-branch nanojunction: Domain-wall structure and magneto-resistance”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 102403 (2012)
  • G. Bohra, R. Somphonsane, N. Aoki, Y. Ochiai, D. K. Ferry, and J. P. Bird, “Robust mesoscopic fluctuations in disordered graphene”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 093110 (2012)
  • Y. Yoon, M.-G. Kang, T. Morimoto, M. Kida, N. Aoki, J. L. Reno, Y. Ochiai, L. Mourokh, J. Fransson, and J. P. Bird, “Coupling quantum states through a continuum: a mesoscopic multistate Fano resonance”, Phys. Rev. X 2, 021003 (2012)
  • J. E. Han, S. F. Fischer, S. S. Buchholz, U. Kunze, D. Reuter, A. D. Wieck, and J. P. Bird, “Many-body enhanced nonlinear conductance resonance in quantum channels”, Phys. Rev. B 84, 193302 (2011)
  • T. Kim and J. P. Bird, "Electrical signatures of ferromagnetism in epitaxial FeSi2 nanowires", Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 263111 (2010)
  • J. W. Song, G. R. Aizin, J. Mikalopas, Y. Kawano, K. Ishibashi, N. Aoki, J. L. Reno, Y. Ochiai, and J. P. Bird, “Bolometric terahertz detection in pinched-off quantum point contacts”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 083109 (2010)
  • T.-Y. Lin, K.-M. Lim, A. M. Andrews, G. Strasser, and J. P. Bird, “Nonspin related giant magnetoresistance <600% in hybrid field-effect transistors with ferromagnetic gates”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 063108 (2010)
  • M. Bell, A. Sergeev, J. P. Bird, V. Mitin, and A. Verevkin, “Crossover from Fermi liquid to multichannel Luttinger liquid in high-mobility quantum wires”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 046805 (2010)
  • Y. Yoon, M.-G. Kang, P. Ivanushkin, L. Mourokh, T. Morimoto, N. Aoki, J. L. Reno, Y. Ochiai, and J. P. Bird, “Non-local bias spectroscopy of the self-consistent bound state in quantum point contacts near pinch-off”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 213103 (2009)
  • Y. Yoon, M.-G. Kang, T. Morimoto, L. Mourokh, N. Aoki, J. L. Reno, J. P. Bird, and Y. Ochiai, “Detector backaction on the self-consistent bound state in quantum point contacts”, Phys. Rev. B 79, 121304(R) (2009)
  • J.-U. Bae, T.-Y. Lin, Y. Yoon, S. J. Kim, A. Imre, J. L. Reno, W. Porod, and J. P. Bird, “Large tunneling magneto-resistance in a field-effect transistor with a nanoscale ferromagnetic gate”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 253101 (2008)
  • J. W. Song, N. A. Kabir, Y. Kawano, K. Ishibashi, G. R. Aizin, L. Mourokh, J. L. Reno, A. G. Markelz, and J. P. Bird, “Terahertz response of quantum point contacts”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 223115 (2008)
  • Y. Yoon, L. Mourokh, T. Morimoto, N. Aoki, Y. Ochiai, J. L. Reno, and J. P. Bird, “Probing the microscopic structure of bound states in quantum point contacts”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 136805 (2007)
  • R. Brunner, R. Meisels, F. Kuchar, R. Akis, D. K. Ferry, and J. P. Bird, “Draining of the sea of chaos: Role of resonant transmission and reflection in an array of billiards”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 204101 (2007)
  • T. Morimoto, M. Henmi, R. Naito, K. Tsubaki, N. Aoki, J. P. Bird, and Y. Ochiai, “Resonantly enhanced nonlinear conductance in long quantum point contacts near pinch-off”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 096801 (2006)
Journal & Book Editorship
  • Edited the proceedings of several international workshops and conferences: Semiconductor Science and Technology 13 (8A), (1998), Superlattices & Microstructures 27 (5&6), (2000), Physica B 314 (1-4), (2002), Physica E 19 (1-2), (2003), Superlattices & Microstructures 34 (3-6), (2004), Journal of Physics: Conference Series 38, (2006)
  • Editor of the research monograph "Electron Transport in Quantum Dots", Kluwer-Academic, 2004
  • Co-edited (with Sir Michael Pepper) a special issue of the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter on the "0.7 Feature & Interactions in One-Dimensional Systems" (vol. 20, number 16, April 23, 2008)
  • Co-edited (with Robin Kaiser, Ingrid Rotter, and Gunther Wunner) a special issue of Fortschritte der Physik - Progress of Physics on "Quantum physics with non-Hermitian Operators: Theory and Experiment" (vol. 61, numbers 2 - 3, February 2013).
Page Last Edited: March 13th, 2013
Davis Hall at Dusk