Subhajit Mohanty awarded Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement

PhD student Subhajit Mohanty has been awarded the Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement from the College of Engineering, which recognizes outstanding graduate students who excel in research, leadership, and academic performance.

Mohanty’s research is focused on advancing the power-frequency performance of high electron mobility transistors, such as those used in power amplifiers and radar.

“In the future, I would like to make more novel research contributions to facilitate ultra-fast, highly reliable, and low latency wireless networks beyond 5G applications,” Mohanty said.

Mohanty specifically works to improve power capability so less energy is required for long range communication. He also aims to enhance frequency to improve high speed data exchange and bandwidth. His goal is to improve the development of ultra-scaled channel N-polar GaN high electron mobility transistors for next generation wireless technologies.

Mohanty has also helped advance a new generation of memory devices utilizing ferroelectric ScAlN, which can exhibit unprecedentedly high temperature and stable performance. He published ten journal papers and five papers at international conferences over the past three years.

In addition to his research, Mohanty serves as an ECE ambassador, assisting recruitment and outreach efforts. He is a member in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF) User Committee, and he mentors undergraduate students through the College of Engineering’s “Lunch & Lab with a Grad Mentoring Program.”

“My experience at U-M has been very enriching and gratifying,” Mohanty said. “The excellent facilities, inclusive eco-system, and helpful staff and colleagues give me the opportunity to be a creative and impactful researcher.”

Mohanty earned his B.Tech and M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. He is advised by Prof. Elaheh Ahmadi.