Professor Kroemer, who held the Donald W. Whittier Chair in Electrical Engineering, joined the UCSB faculty in 1976. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for "developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed and optoelectronics." Kroemer received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1952 from the University of Goettingen. He wrote his dissertation on hot-electron effects in the then-new transistor, setting the stage for a career in research on the physics of semiconductors and semiconductor devices. His research intro transistors was a stepping stone to the later development of mobile phone technologies. In 1963, he proposed the concept of the double-heterostructure laser, which is now a central concept in the field of semiconductor lasers. He also became an early pioneer in molecular beam epitaxy, concentrating on applying the technology to new materials. 

Read ECE's Profile of Distinction with Professor Kroemer