(left to right) Arjun Krishnamoorthi and Chun Tao

Arjun Krishnamoorthi of Texas A&M University and Chun Tao of Purdue University are the recipients of the Dean’s Fellowship. They were chosen based on their top academic achievement, potential for conducting innovative research, and the compatibility of their research interests with multiple ECE faculty.

“This competitive fellowship is aimed at supporting these high-achieving researchers to succeed as future leaders in their chosen fields,” according to Dana Weinstein, Associate Dean for Graduate Education. “We look forward to our new Dean’s Fellows joining the graduate program and to seeing their growth through the next few years.” 

Krishnamoorthi will be working in a research group in the Fields and Optics area. He is interested in biophysical studies using optical spectroscopy, imaging, and devices, in addition to ultrafast optics. Tao, an international student from China, will research VLSI circuit design, especially neural-inspired CMOS architectures and computing fabrics.

Both students, who hope to become professors when they conclude their graduate program, say they were excited and grateful when they learned that they had been selected for the Dean’s Fellowship. They will receive five years of competitive funding, including tuition and a $34,000 per year salary. In addition, Krishnamoorthi and Chun will receive up to $2,000 a year in additional funds for activities such as conference travel that supports their research. Both mentioned the impact of the financial support, with Chun noting, “My graduate life and study will be more balanced, interesting, and fulfilling.”

According to Professor Dan Jiao, ECE’s director of graduate admissions, “We certainly hope to develop them as future leaders in their research fields, and the education we will provide will stress every aspect to make them achieve this goal such as depth, breadth, leadership, and professional skills.”

“Our Dean and our faculty have created this inspiring partnership that I am very thankful for,” noted Dimitri Peroulis, Michael and Katherine Birck Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “We are truly excited to welcome our new Dean’s Fellows to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. We are confident they will find many exciting areas in our School to explore, and we look forward to their contributions.”