By Dr. Bill Flounders, NanoLab Executive Director
Ming C. Wu, Nortel Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, will step
down as faculty director of the Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory at the end of 2018 after a
decade of service in this leadership role.
Wu took the helm of the UC Berkeley Microfabrication Laboratory (Microlab) in July 2008 when his
predecessor, Professor Tsu-Jae King Liu became associate dean of research at the College of
Engineering. At the time, a new state-of-the-art clean room research facility, the Marvell
Nanofabrication Laboratory, was in its final stages of construction in Sutardja Dai Hall, headquarters of
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute.
“Professor Wu oversaw the transition of the Microlab in Cory Hall to the NanoLab in Sutardja Dai Hall,
which was no small feat,” said Liu, now the dean of Berkeley Engineering. “More than 100 pieces of
sophisticated equipment had to be relocated while minimizing disruption to research projects that
depended on them. It took two years to complete the move, and Wu’s steady hand at the helm was key
to its success.”
Under Wu’s leadership, multiple capabilities were added to the NanoLab – including a suite of high-
resolution spectroscopy and microscopy tools – and the Berkeley NanoLab Affiliate (BNLA) program
grew.
Connie Chang-Hasnain, Berkeley Engineering’s associate dean for strategic alliances and John R.
Whinnery Distinguished Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, will succeed
Wu as NanoLab faculty director, effective January 1, 2019. Chang-Hasnain conducts research in
semiconductor optoelectronic devices, including nano-photonic materials and devices for chip-scale
integrated optics.
In her associate dean position and as founding co-director of the Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute,
Chang-Hasnain has a keen interest in international partnerships.
“For more than 20 years, Connie has been an active researcher and committed supporter of the
NanoLab and its predecessor, the Microlab,” said Liu. “I look forward to working with her to expand the
capabilities and reach of the NanoLab through strategic alliances with researchers across the campus
and with institutions around the world.”