8/9/2007 Lauren Eichmann, ECE Illinois
ECE alumnus Alfred Cho was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Bush during a White House ceremony on July 27. Cho was recognized for his contributions to the invention of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), which was invented in the late 1960s by Cho and J.R. Arthur at Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Written by Lauren Eichmann, ECE Illinois
ECE alumnus Alfred Cho was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Bush during a White House ceremony on July 27.
Cho was recognized for his contributions to the invention of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). MBE was invented in the late 1960s by Cho and J.R. Arthur at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and has been refined over the course of three decades. It is now a highly precise tool used for engineering semiconductor components of electronic and photonic devices used in CD players, cellular phones, microwave devices, and high-speed communications.
Two individuals, one team, and three companies who have significantly contributed to the advancement of technology are recognized for their work annually with the National Medal of Technology, which is administered by the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). The award is deemed the highest honor awarded by the president of the United States for technological innovation. According to a DOC Technology Administration Web site, the award recognizes "economic, environmental, and social well-being through the development and commercialization of technology products, processes and concepts; technological innovation; and development of the nation’s technological manpower."
A National Medal of Technology Evaluation Committee provides recommendations for candidates to the Secretary of Commerce, who in turn makes recommendations to the president for final selection.
Cho is technically a 2005 recipient of the award. The announcement of the 2005 recipients was delayed because the process had been behind schedule.
Cho, who earned his bachelor's degree in 1960, master's degree in 1961, and PhD in 1968 all in electrical engineering at Illinois, is the adjunct vice president of semiconductor research at Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
Cho also received the National Medal of Science in 1993, among numerous other awards including the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1994; the New Jersey Governor's Thomas Alva Edison Science Award in 1990; the Industrial Research Institute Achievement Award of the Industrial Research Institute, Inc., the World Materials Congress Award of ASM International, and the Gaede-Langmuir Award of the American Vacuum Society, all in 1988. He was also awarded the Solid State Science and Technology Medal of the Electrochemical Society in 1987, and the American Physical Society International Prize for New Materials in 1982.