Rate My Professor John Cunningham

Professor John Cunningham holds the position of Professor of Nanoelectronics in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds. He obtained his BSc in Physical Sciences from University College London in 1996 with first-class honours. In the same year, he earned an MSc with distinction in Semiconductor Physics from Imperial College London. He then completed his PhD in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, in 2000, under the supervision of Professor Sir Michael Pepper, researching single-electron transport using surface acoustic waves.

After his doctorate, Cunningham worked as a postdoctoral research associate while serving as a College Fellow at Selwyn College, Cambridge. In 2003, he joined the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds to focus on high-frequency terahertz electronics, supported by a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship in 2003 and an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship in 2004. He was promoted to Reader in 2008 and to full Professor of Nanoelectronics in 2010. From 2011 to 2016, he served as Director of the Institute of Microwaves and Photonics (now the Pollard Institute). He acted as Deputy Head of School from 2017 to 2023 and currently holds the position of Director of Research and Innovation for the School. Throughout his career, he has secured a total of £8.3 million as principal investigator and an additional £27.2 million as co-investigator in research funding.

Cunningham's research specializations include MHz to THz electronic devices and systems, surface and bulk acoustic waves, on-chip GHz/THz devices and systems, semiconductor devices, and interdisciplinary applications of high-frequency electronics. He led the UK Network for Terahertz Science and Technology (Teranet) from 2014 to 2021 and now leads the EPSRC NetworkPlus in Terahertz Systems. He is a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and a frequent panel member for EPSRC, DFG, and the Foundation for Polish Science. Additionally, he has contributed as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of CHIST-ERA, General Co-chair and treasurer for European Microwave Week, and Technical Programme Committee member for the International Microwave Symposium, alongside ongoing journal and grant review duties.