Rate My Professor Stephen Forrest

Stephen Forrest served as the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering in Princeton University's Engineering faculty. He received a B.A. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972, an M.Sc. in physics in 1974, and a Ph.D. in physics in 1979 from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the Horace Rackham Fellowship and the Knoller Scholarship for Physics and Chemistry. Early in his career, Forrest worked as a semiconductor process engineer at Sierra Electronics in Menlo Park, California. He then joined AT&T Bell Laboratories, advancing to supervisor of the Integrated Optoelectronics Device and Circuits Group, focusing on long-wavelength photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, and organic-inorganic interfaces. In 1985, he became a professor in the electrical engineering and materials science departments at the University of Southern California, directing the National Center for Integrated Photonics Technology, and developing high-bandwidth photo-receivers, self-powered optoelectronic circuits, and smart pixels.

In 1992, Forrest joined Princeton University as the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and director of the Center for Photonics and Optoelectronic Materials (POEM) until 1997. He chaired the Department of Electrical Engineering from 1997 to 2001, leading a major strategic planning initiative. His research addressed photonic materials, devices, and systems, including group III-V semiconductor optoelectronics, photonic integrated circuits, photonic crystals, photovoltaic cells, lasers, organic light emitters, transistors, and organic thin-film growth and processing. Key advancements included organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) using electrophosphorescence for 100% electrical-to-optical energy conversion in displays and lighting, and high-efficiency organic photovoltaic cells. Forrest's contributions earned him election to the National Academy of Engineering for advances in optoelectronic devices, fiber optic detectors, and organic LEDs; IEEE and Optical Society of America Fellowships; IEEE/LEOS Distinguished Lecturer Award (1996-97); co-recipient of the IPO National Distinguished Inventor Award and Thomas Alva Edison Award (1998); MRS Medal; IEEE/LEOS William Streiffer Scientific Achievement Award; and the 2006 Jan Rajchman Award. Notable publications include "Highly efficient phosphorescent emission from organic electroluminescent devices" (1999), "The path to ubiquitous and low-cost organic electronic appliances on plastic" (2004, Nature), "Nearly 100% internal phosphorescence efficiency in an organic light-emitting device" (2001), "Ultrathin Organic Films Grown by Molecular Beam Deposition and Related Techniques" (1997), and "Management of singlet and triplet excitons for efficient white organic light-emitting devices" (2006, Nature). In 2006, he moved to the University of Michigan.