JONATHAN BIRD, PROFESSOR
332 Bonner Hall • Buffalo, New York 14260 • (716) 645-3115 x 1140 • Fax: (716) 645-3656
 

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 served until joining UB. Prof. Bird's research is in the area of nanoelectronics. He is the co-author of more than a hundred peer-reviewed publications as well as of an undergraduate textbook.

Research Overview
Prof. Bird's research is in the area commonly referred to as nanoelectronics and is focused on three distinct aspects:
Fundamental transport phenomena at the nanoscale. Recent examples of this work include studies of transport in open quantum dots and quantum-dot arrays as tools for the investigation of quantum chaos and decoherence, investigations of spontaneous spin polarization in quantum wires, and studies of time-resolved transient transport in semiconductor nanostructures.
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), studies of coupled quantum wires for application to quantum computing, 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.

The results of this research have been published in more than two hundred peer-reviewed publications that have been cited more than nine hundred times in the literature (h-index: 22). Prof. Bird is also the co-author of an undergraduate textbook (Electronic Materials and Devices, Academic Press, with D. K. Ferry), the editor of a research monograph (Electron Transport in Quantum Dots, Kluwer-Academic), and a co-author of the second edition of "Transport in Nanostructures" (with D. K. Ferry & S. M. Goodnick, Cambridge University Press, scheduled for 2008/2009).

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
Sponsored Research Summary
Nearly $9M of funding since 1997 from various federal agencies (NSF, DoE, DoD)
Currently funded by NSF & DoE
10 PhDs graduated since 1997, 4 PhDs currently in progress
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 Faculty Development Award (2004)
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)
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, Physical Review B, Physical Review Letters, and Semiconductor Science & Technol.
Selected Recent Publications
  • M.-G. Kang, T. Morimoto, N. Aoki, J-U. Bae, Y. Ochiai, and J. P. Bird, “Aharonov-Bohm effect in the magneto-resistance of a multi-walled carbon nanotube with tunneling contacts”, Phys. Rev. B 77, 113408 (2008)
  • T. Kim, B. Naser, R. V. Chamberlin, M. V. Schilfgaarde, P. A. Bennett, and J. P. Bird, “Large hysteretic magneto-resistance of silicide nanostructures”, Phys. Rev. B 76, 184404 (2007)
  • 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)
  • J.-U. Bae, T.-Y. Lin, Y. Yoon, S. J. Kim, J. P. Bird, A. Imre, W. Porod, and J. L. Reno, “Large hysteretic magneto-resistance in high-mobility semiconductor quantum wires bridged by single-domain nanomagnets”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 022105 (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)
  • B. Naser, D. K. Ferry, J. Heeren, J. L. Reno, and J. P. Bird, “Pulsed measurements of the non-linear conductance of quantum point contacts”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 043103 (2007)
  • A. Ramamoorthy, J. P. Bird, and J. L. Reno, “Quantum asymmetry of switching in laterally-coupled quantum wires with tunable coupling strength”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 153128 (2006)
  • N. A. Kabir, Y. Yoon, J. R. Knab, J.-Y. Chen, A. G. Markelz, J. L. Reno, Y. Sadofyev, S. Johnson and Y.-H. Zhang, and J. P. Bird, “Terahertz transmission characteristics of high-mobility GaAs and InAs two-dimensional-electron-gas systems”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 132109 (2006)
  • 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)
  • B. Naser, D. K. Ferry, J. Heeren, J. L. Reno, and J. P. Bird, “Large capacitance in the nanosecond-scale transient response of quantum point contacts”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 083103 (2006)
  • A. Ramamoorthy, J. P. Bird, and J. L. Reno, “Switching characteristics of coupled quantum wires with tunable coupling strength”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 013118 (2006)
  • K. Ogawa, T. Kato, A. Ikegami, H. Tsuji, N. Aoki, J. P. Bird, and Y. Ochiai, “Electrical properties of field-effect transistors based on C60 nano-whiskers”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 112109 (2006)
  • L. Mourokh, V. I. Puller, A. Yu. Smirnov, and J. P. Bird, “Readout of single spins via Fano resonances in quantum point contacts”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 192501 (2005)
  • J. Fransson, J.-F. Lin, L. Rotkina, J. P. Bird, and P. A. Bennett, “Signatures of band-like tunneling in granular nanowires”, Phys. Rev. B 72, 113411 (2005)
  • D. K. Ferry, R. Akis, and J. P. Bird, “Einselection in action: Decoherence-induced selection of preferred pointer states in open quantum dots”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 026803 (2004)
  • V. I. Puller, L. G. Mourokh, A. Shailos, and J. P. Bird, “Detection of local-moment formation using the resonant interaction between coupled quantum wires”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 096802 (2004)
  • J. P. Bird and Y. Ochiai, “Electron spin polarization in nanoscale constrictions”, Science 303, 1621 – 1622 (2004)
Journal & Book Editorship
Special issue (with Michael Pepper, Cambridge University) on the "0.7 Feature & Interactions in One-Dimensional Systems", Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, vol. 20, number 16, 23 April 2008
Editor of the research monograph "Electron Transport in Quantum Dots", Kluwer-Academic, 2004
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)]
Teaching Interests
My primary teaching interests are in the area of solid-state electronics, including quantum mechanics and solid-state physics, semiconductor materials and devices, and nanoelectronics
I currently teach the following classes: EE 421/563 (Semiconductor Materials, every fall), EE 430/530 (Fundamantals of Solid-State Devices, every spring), EE 524 (Introduction to Nanoelectronics, every other spring), and EE 638 (Advanced Semiconductor Materials & Devices, every other spring, alternating with EE 524)
A comprehensive set of Power-Point notes is available to enrolled students of all classes that I teach. These class materials should be obtained directly from UBLearns
A passion of mine is for the promotion of international exchange in research as a means to achieve greater understanding among diverse cultures. Due to my own personal experience of living and working in Japan, my main effort is focused on a collaboration with Prof. Mitsuaki Shimojo (Linguistics, UB), to develop courses in technical Japanese for our engineering undergraduates. This will provide engineering majors with an additional qualification in technical Japanese, and will be supported by a capstone research experience in Japan. Students interested in this program should contact me directly for further details
Page Last Updated: May 2nd, 2008