Rate My Professor Jonathan Bird

Jonathan Bird is the UB Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo, where he joined the faculty as a full Professor in Fall 2004. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering from 2017 to 2025. Bird earned his BSc in Physics with First-Class Honors in 1986 and his PhD in Physics in 1990, both from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. After completing his doctorate, he held a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Visiting Fellowship at the University of Tsukuba in Japan from 1991 to 1992. He then joined the Frontier Research Program at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) in Japan. In 1997, Bird was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University, where he remained until his move to UB. Currently, he directs the UB Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies, uniting researchers to address energy challenges and train future semiconductor engineers.

Bird's research lies at the intersection of electrical engineering and physics, specializing in nanoelectronics and mesoscopic physics. His work encompasses fundamental investigations of quantum phenomena in mesoscopic structures, explorations of novel device and sensing paradigms, and studies of the electrical properties of emerging nanomaterials, including semiconductors, magnetoelectric materials, and synthetic compounds. These efforts hold potential to revolutionize electronics in areas such as computer chips, solar panels, power grids, and electric vehicles. Bird is the co-author of nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications as well as undergraduate and graduate textbooks on his field. Among his most cited works are 'Recent experimental studies of electron dephasing in metal and semiconductor mesoscopic structures' (2002), 'A review of progress in the physics of open quantum systems: theory and experiment' (2015), 'Lead-orientation-dependent wave function scarring in open quantum dots' (1999), 'Wave function scarring effects in open stadium shaped quantum dots' (1997), and 'Magnetotransport fluctuations in regular semiconductor ballistic quantum dots' (1996). His scholarly impact is evidenced by over 10,000 citations on Google Scholar. Bird's distinguished career includes honors such as JSPS Visiting Research Fellow (1991), Fellow of the Institute of Physics (2002), Senior Member of IEEE (2002), NYSTAR Distinguished Professor (2003), Visiting Professor at Chiba University (2008), UB Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award (2008), and SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2012).