Rate My Professor Darell Scholm

Darrell G. Schlom is the Tisch University Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University, affiliated with the graduate fields of Applied Physics and Physics. He earned a B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from the California Institute of Technology in 1984, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1989, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 1990. His doctoral thesis focused on the molecular beam epitaxial growth of cuprate superconductors and related phases under advisor James S. Harris, Jr. Following his Ph.D., Schlom conducted postdoctoral research at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory in the oxide superconductors and novel materials group led by J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller.

Schlom joined Pennsylvania State University as Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering in 1992, advancing to Associate Professor in 1998, Professor in 2002, and Distinguished Professor in 2007. In 2008, he moved to Cornell University as Professor, became the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Industrial Chemistry in 2010, served as Director of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 2012 to 2015, and was named Tisch University Professor in 2023. He has held the Leibniz Chair at the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung since 2020 and is Co-Director of the Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM) since 2016. His research specializes in the heteroepitaxial growth and characterization of oxide thin films using reactive molecular-beam epitaxy, applying a materials-by-design approach to develop materials with superior properties for electronic applications. Schlom has co-authored over 750 publications with an h-index of 103 and more than 55,000 citations, including key works such as "Room-temperature ferroelectricity in strained SrTiO3" (Nature, 2004), "Multiferroic BaTiO3-CoFe2O4 nanostructures" (Science, 2004), "Enhancement of ferroelectricity in strained BaTiO3 thin films" (Science, 2004), and "Oxide interfaces—an opportunity for electronics" (Science, 2010). His honors include the 2024 Intel Outstanding Researcher Award, 2024 TMS Functional Materials Division John Bardeen Award, 2021 American Physical Society James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials, 2021 American Vacuum Society John A. Thornton Memorial Award, 2019 International Organization for Crystal Growth Frank Prize, 2017 election to the National Academy of Engineering, 2008 Materials Research Society Medal, and fellowships from the American Physical Society (2003), Materials Research Society (2010), and American Vacuum Society (2019). He has organized 49 major symposia and conferences and mentored over 70 undergraduates, resulting in 59 co-authored publications.