Kayoung Lee and Avinash Nayak, doctoral students at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering, have been awarded the Ben Streetman Prize for the academic year 2014-2015.

Kayoung Lee, a doctoral student supervised by Prof. Emanuel Tutuc was recognized for her work on novel graphene-dielectric heterostructures, which provide new insight into the fundamental electronic properties of graphene bilayers, and may serve as platform for novel transistors. Kayoung’s research results have been published in various journals including Science, Nano Letters, Physical Review Letters, IEEE Electronic Device Letters, and IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

Kayoung Lee

Avinash was recognized for his contributions as a graduate student to the area of Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices. Avinash won the accolades for his work on the pressure induced effects on the electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional materials.

Avinash Niyak receives his award from Prof. Ben Streeman (center)

His multi-disciplinary expertise covers carbon nanomaterials, 2D devices, and pressure electronics. Avinash has several publications in top-notch journals and conferences including Nature Communications, Nanoletters, and IEEE. He is also a recognized mentor who works closely with several undergraduates to enhance their research experience. And he received the Ben Streetman Prize for the academic year 2014-2015 to honor his achievements in research. Avinash gained his Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from University of California at Davis in 2010. He joined the University of Texas at Austin as a Ph.D. student the following year. He is supervised by Prof. Deji Akinwande.

The University of Texas at Austin established the Ben Streetman Prize as a university-wide annual prize in 2001. It is presented to graduate students who are exceptional contributors to the area of electronic or photonic materials and devices. Students apply for this prize with the consent and recommendation of their advisors.