Jerry Woodall

Jerry Woodall was born in Takoma Park, Maryland in 1938, which is located in Washington DC.{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Joe |date=2021-09-24 |title=Jerry Woodall |url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33760 |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.aip.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Sydni |title=Jerry M. Woodall |url=https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/jerry-m-woodall/ |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=National Science & Technology Medals Foundation |language=en-US}} His father was a plastering contractor, his mother a homemaker, and he had three siblings: one older brother and two half sisters. He went to a Seventh Day Adventist grade school, and Takoma Academy for high school.

Although he flunked his "Electricity and Magnetism" course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Woodall managed to graduate with a C average and receive a BS in Metallurgy (minor in Psychology) in 1960.{{Cite web |title=Biography – Woodall, Jerry M. |url=https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/woodall/biography/ |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=UC Davis Electrical and Computer Engineering}} He then worked as a Staff Engineer at Clevite Transistor Products in Waltham, MA for two years. In 1962, he became a research staff member at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where he worked most of his life, and was appointed Corporate IBM Fellow in 1985. At the same time, he obtained his PhD in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1982.

Woodall then made a shift in his life to focus on academic work. In 1993, he became a professor at Purdue University and taught microelectronics. He also taught electrical engineering at Yale University from 1999 to 2004, but he returned to Purdue in 2005. In 2012, he moved to UC Davis to teach Electrical & Computer Engineering.

Woodall's research is largely focused on developing novel electronic materials and microelectronic devices that can greatly impact society.{{Cite web |title=Woodall Research Group at UC Davis |url=https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu}} While at IBM, Woodall developed a highly efficient LED using the liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method {{Cite journal |last1=Rupprecht |first1=H. |last2=Woodall |first2=J. M. |last3=Konnerth |first3=K. |last4=Pettit |first4=D. G. |date=1966-09-15 |title=EFFICIENT ELECTROLUMINESCENCE FROM GaAs DIODES AT 300K |url=https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1754721 |journal=Applied Physics Letters |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=221–223 |doi=10.1063/1.1754721 |bibcode=1966ApPhL...9..221R |issn=0003-6951|url-access=subscription }} that continues to form the foundation of LED research. Shortly after, he built upon this work by developing high-speed electronic and photonic devices, including the first super bright red LED{{Cite journal |title=EFFICIENT VISIBLE ELECTROLUMINESCENCE AT 300K FROM Ga1-xAlxAs p-n JUNCTIONS GROWN BY LIQUID-PHASE EPITAXY |url=https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/article/11/3/81-83/31451 |access-date=2023-05-06 |journal=Applied Physics Letters |year=1967 |doi=10.1063/1.1755045 |last1=Rupprecht |first1=H. |last2=Woodall |first2=J. M. |last3=Pettit |first3=G. D. |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=81–83 |bibcode=1967ApPhL..11...81R |url-access=subscription }} and a novel, high-efficiency solar cell.{{Cite journal |last1=Woodall |first1=J.M. |last2=Hovel |first2=H.J. |date=1972-10-15 |title=High-efficiency Ga_1−xAl_xAs–GaAs solar cells |journal=Applied Physics Letters |volume=21 |issue=8 |pages=379–381 |doi=10.1063/1.1654421 |bibcode=1972ApPhL..21..379W |issn=0003-6951|doi-access=free }} Woodall's work on LEDs has therefore been essential for the development of a wide variety of consumer products. This includes remotes, TVs, and LAN devices that utilize IR LEDs, as well as CD players and optical fibers that utilize super-bright red LEDs.{{Cite web |title=Research Interests – Woodall, Jerry M. |url=https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/woodall/research/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu}} Woodall is also referred to as the "father of heterojunction devices" due to his seminal work inventing and developing the modern implementations of heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT){{Cite journal |last1=Dumke |first1=W. P. |last2=Woodall |first2=J. M. |last3=Rideout |first3=V. L. |date=1972-12-01 |title=GaAs/GaAlAs heterojunction transistor for high frequency operation |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0038-1101%2872%2990127-X |journal=Solid-State Electronics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=12 |pages=1339–1343 |doi=10.1016/0038-1101(72)90127-X |bibcode=1972SSEle..15.1339D |issn=0038-1101|url-access=subscription }} and pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (P-HEMT).{{Cite journal |last1=Rosenberg |first1=J.J. |last2=Benlamri |first2=M. |last3=Kirchner |first3=P.D. |last4=Woodall |first4=J.M. |last5=Pettit |first5=G.D. |date=1985 |title=An In 0.15 Ga 0.85 As/GaAs pseudomorphic single quantum well HEMT |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1485358 |journal=IEEE Electron Device Letters |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=491–493 |doi=10.1109/EDL.1985.26205 |bibcode=1985IEDL....6..491R |s2cid=2172103 |issn=0741-3106|url-access=subscription }} Due to their compact size and high speed, these transistors are now used worldwide in many personal electronic devices, including most tablets and mobile phones on the market.

More recently, Woodall's lab has been focused on finding more efficient and environmentally friendly ways of supplying the worlds growing energy demands.{{Cite web |title=Research |url=https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/research/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu}} His lab has designed a hybrid solar power conversion system that can operate at moderate temperatures without the need for traditional cooling systems.{{Cite book |last1=Montgomery |first1=Kyle H. |last2=Heredia |first2=Cristian |last3=Woodall |first3=Jerry M. |title=2013 IEEE 39th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) |chapter=Design and modeling of a high efficiency hybrid photovoltaic-photothermal concentrator (PVPTC) system |date=2013 |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6744483 |pages=1755–1760 |doi=10.1109/PVSC.2013.6744483|isbn=978-1-4799-3299-3 |s2cid=39984321 }} This design has the potential to reduce the cost of building these systems while also making them more efficient and thermal stable, thus solving some of the major issues limiting the scalability of solar energy production.{{Cite web |title=Solar Performance and Efficiency |url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-performance-and-efficiency |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}} In addition, Woodall's lab has also been researching methods that attempt to increase the feasibility of using hydrogen as an alternative energy source. Specifically, his lab has been developing new methods of producing hydrogen on-demand {{Cite patent|number=US9624103B1|title=Method and system for continuously producing hydrogen, heat and aluminum oxides on-demand|gdate=2017-04-18|invent1=Woodall|invent2=Rowley|inventor1-first=Jerry M.|inventor2-first=Thomas E.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US9624103B1/en}}{{Cite book |last1=Choi |first1=Go |last2=Ziebarth |first2=Jeffrey T. |last3=Woodall |first3=Jerry M. |last4=Kramer |first4=Robert |last5=Sherman |first5=Deborah |last6=Allen |first6=Charles R. |title=2010 18th Biennial University/Government/Industry Micro/Nano Symposium |chapter=Mechanism of Hydrogen Generation via Water Reaction with Aluminum Alloys |date=2010 |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5508911 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.1109/UGIM.2010.5508911|isbn=978-1-4244-4731-2 |s2cid=28149291 }} and finding ways to safely store and transport it {{Cite journal |last=Woodall |first=Jerry |date=2012-04-05 |title=Splitting any kind of water with global-scale, earth-abundant, light, recyclable metals to make hydrogen, heat, and potable water on demand |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2142/106741 |journal=Sustainable Seminar Series |hdl=2142/106741 |language=en}} so it can be used as a new source of renewable energy.

Jerry Woodall is an American inventor and scientist best known for his invention of the first commercially viable heterojunction material GaAlAs for red LEDs used in automobile brake lights and traffic lights, CD and DVD players, TV remote controls and computer networks. He is a recipient of US National Medal of Technology and Innovation for "his pioneering role in the research and development of compound semiconductor materials and devices..."{{Cite web |title=National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) |url=https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-programs-and-awards/national-medal-technology-and-innovation-nmti |website=United States Patent and Trademark Office|date=7 February 2023 }}

He was elected to National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1989,{{Cite web |title=Professor Jerry M. Woodall |url=https://nae.edu/27906/Professor-Jerry-M-Woodall |website=National Academy of Engineering}} and Honorary Member of The Electrochemical Society (ECS) in 2007. He is also the fellow of American Vacuum Society (AVS), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and American Physical Society (APS).

Recently, Woodall gave a lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) outlining his current contributions to the field of renewable energy and energy storage.{{Citation |title=MITA+B2019 Plenary Speaker Jerry Woodall Electricity by intermittent power requires energy storage | date=15 October 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpK4FtTktyM |access-date=2023-05-20 |language=en}} In this lecture, titled [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpK4FtTktyM&t=3s "Electricity Produced by Intermittent Power Requires Its Energy Storage"], he highlights the need for better methods of storing energy if the world is to use intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The main issues with current energy storage methods are that they waste energy, raise Earth's temperature, and can't reliably store and release useful amounts of energy during periods of low energy production. Woodall therefore presents his ongoing research developing a system that can not only reliably capture, store, and release intermittent energy, but also produce potable water on-demand in the process. His work continues to greatly contribute to science and renewable energy research, and will be crucial as the world transitions to intermittent energy sources in the future.

• R&D 100 Award (1975){{cite web |title=Jerry Woodall Awards |url=https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/people/jerry-woodall/#awards |publisher=University of California, Davis |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• Electronics Division Award of the Electrochemical Society (1980){{cite web |title=Electronics and Photonics Division Award |url=https://www.electrochem.org/electronics-photonics-award |website=The Electrochemical Society |publisher=ECS |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• American Physical Society (APS) Fellow (1982){{Cite web |title=Jerry Woodall |url=https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/people/jerry-woodall/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu |language=en-US}}
• IEEE Jack A. Morton Award (1984) {{cite web |title=IEEE JACK A. MORTON AWARD RECIPIENTS |url=https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/awards/morton_rl.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717064025/https://www.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/awards/morton_rl.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2020 |publisher=IEEE |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• Electrochemical Society - Gordon E. Moore Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Solid State Science and Technology (1985) {{cite web |title=Gordon E. Moore Medal for Outstanding Achievement |url=https://www.electrochem.org/moore-award |publisher=The Electrochemical Society |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• Gallium Arsenide Symposium Award and Heinrich Welker Gold Medal (1988){{cite book |publisher=CRC Press |title=Gallium Arsenide and Related Compounds 1991 |date=January 1, 1991 |location=Seattle, WA |pages=680 |isbn=9780854984107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3db8KQD6OwC&q=Gallium+Arsenide+Symposium+Award}}
• National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Member (1989)
• American Vacuum Society Founders Medal and Award - Welch Award (1990){{cite web |title=Medard W. Welch Award |url=https://avs.org/awards/professional-awards/medard-w-welch-award/ |website=American Vacuum Society |publisher=AVS |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow (1990)
• Electrochemical Society (ECS) Fellow (1992)
• American Vacuum Society (AVS) Fellow (1994)
• Eta Kappa Nu Vladimir Karapetoff Eminent Member's Award (1997) {{cite web |title=VLADIMIR KARAPETOFF OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD |url=https://hkn.ieee.org/awards/retired-awards#:~:text=This%20IEEE-HKN%20recognition%20for%20career%20accomplishment%20in%20the,Eta%20Kappa%20Nu.%20It%20was%20retired%20in%202019. |website=Eta Kappa Nu |publisher=HKN |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• Acheson Award from the Electrochemical Society (1998){{cite web|url= http://www.electrochem.org/awards/ecs/recipients/acheson_recipients.htm|title= Edward Goodrich Acheson Award Recipients|publisher= Electrochemical Society|accessdate= 1 November 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160118114604/http://www.electrochem.org/awards/ecs/recipients/acheson_recipients.htm|archive-date= 18 January 2016|url-status= dead}}
• ASEE General Electric Senior Research Award (1998){{cite web |title=Past National Awards Winners |url=https://monolith.asee.org/member-resources/awards/full-list-of-awards/awards-archive/past-national-award-winners-archive |website=American Society for Engineering Education |publisher=ASEE |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Millennium Medal (2000){{cite web |date=August 5, 2010 |title=Millennium Medal Winners |url=https://eds.ieee.org/eds-millennium-medal-winners.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031200224/http://eds.ieee.org/eds-millennium-medal-winners.html |archive-date=2010-10-31 |website=IEEE Electron Devices Society}}
• National Medal of Technology (2001) {{cite web |title=2001 Laureates - National Medal of Technology and Innovation |url=https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-programs-and-awards/national-medal-technology-and-innovation/recipients/2001 |website= National Medal of Technology and Innovation |publisher=USPTO |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• The FMS National Materials Advancement Award (2002){{cite web |title=Jerry Woodall |url=https://woodall.ece.ucdavis.edu/people/jerry-woodall/#awards |publisher=University of California, Davis |access-date=9 May 2023}}
• IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal (2005){{Cite web |title=IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal Recipients |url=https://www.ieee.org/about/awards/bios/nishizawa-recipients.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206102517/https://www.ieee.org/about/awards/bios/nishizawa-recipients.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 6, 2018 |website=IEEE Awards}}
• National Academy of Inventors Fellow (2013){{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2014-12-17 |title=National Academy of Inventors |url=https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/national-academy-inventors |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=Academic Affairs |language=en}}
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow (2018){{Cite web |last=Hoy |first=Anne Q. |title=2017 AAAS Fellows Recognized for Advancing Science |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/2017-aaas-fellows-recognized-advancing-science |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=AAAS |language=en}}

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Category:1938 births

Category:Living people

Category:American inventors

Category:American electrical engineers

Category:Cornell University alumni

Category:Purdue University faculty

Category:IBM employees

Category:IBM Fellows

Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society

Category:Presidents of the Electrochemical Society

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni