Michael J. Stavola

Michael Stavola is currently Sherman Fairchild Professor of Physics and formerly served as chair of the department of physics. A member of the faculty since 1989, the focus of his research has been on the physics of light-element impurities in semiconductors, especially hydrogen. He uses novel spectroscopic methods to gather experimental data on atomic-scale properties related to problems in semiconductor-defect physics. He and his students have used infrared techniques to study the vibrational modes of different hydrogen-containing defects in semiconductors. They have helped improve scientists’ experimental understanding of the wide variety of ways in which hydrogen is involved in defect reactions that affect the electrical properties of semiconductors. His work has led to the solution of materials problems where physics and applications intersect.Stavola is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (U.K.), and received a Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists in 2003.  He has co-authored or edited more than 177 papers, two books, three conference proceedings. He has chaired or co-chaired several of the leading international conferences in his field of physics.