Umesh Mishra, dean of The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, recently visited Italy’s University of Padua (Padova in Italian) to receive an honorary master’s degree in Electronic Engineering, in recognition of his distinguished research and his application of gallium nitride (GaN) in electronics for RF and power conversion. It is the most prestigious award the university bestows.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the University of Padua, where Copernicus was a student and Galileo was on the faculty,” Mishra said. “It has also been one of my significant professional joys to work with my colleagues there — Enrico Zanoni, Gaudenzio Meneghesso, and Matteo Meneghini — and to have their students spend extended times in my lab at UCSB, leading to wonderful advancements and lifelong friendships.”

The ceremony, held on May 5, included all the tradition and flair of a significant scholastic event, with Mishra and his fellow academics donning traditional garments that date to the fourteenth century. The gathering took place in the historic Aula Magna of Palazzo del Bo, seat of the university since 1493 and home to the oldest anatomical theater in the world. University rector, Daniela Mapelli, presented Mishra with his diploma, the recommendation for which came from the Department of Information Engineering (DEI), home to many colleagues with whom he has collaborated for years. DEI director Gaudenzio Meneghesso took the podium to describe the scientific and technological motivations behind the award, noting the exceptional technical, economic, and societal value of Mishra's research.

“This honorary degree not only celebrates a great scientist in the field of electronics who has conducted research of exceptionally high economic, social, and technical-scientific value, but also consolidates the link between our university and scientific research of excellence worldwide,” Meneghesso said. Through years of research on compound semiconductors, he added, “The University of Padua has become an institution of international significance in this domain. “The synergy between DEI and Umesh Mishra has fueled a constant exchange of expertise over the years, fostering mutual growth.”

In his keynote address, Mishra explained the advantages of gallium nitride (GaN) over traditional silicon, including its ability to tolerate higher temperatures, operate at higher frequencies, and use energy more efficiently. A close collaborating colleague of GaN champions and UCSB professors Steven DenBaars, James Speck, and Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura, Mishra has made foundational contributions to the development and commercialization of the GaN heterojunction transistors used in 5G base stations, modern radar systems, and energy conversion.

Mishra directed some of his talk at young researchers, emphasizing the importance of engineering’s role in serving society by contributing solutions to solve the climate crisis. He cited the “GaN revolution” as one example of how fundamental science can translate into industrial solutions capable of significantly reducing CO2 emissions on a global scale.”

The event was not all sublimity, as Mishra, who was presented with a laurel wreath and a felucca goliardica, a hat with a long pointed “bill” in front that dates to the fourteenth century, as well as a very different kind of chapeau — a hat made of tin foil — “for protection from all the ‘Gs,’ from 5G to 9G,” a reference to Mishra’s GaN work that, it was said, resulted in a “transistor so efficient it is transforming 5G networks, radar, and the data centers that power the internet function in the near future.” 

Mishra joked that the aluminum foil was also a heat sink to cool his inefficient brain. It seems a fittingly whimsical gift for Mishra, a dean who is always happy to engage in a bit of nonscientific humor.
Watch the ceremony on YouTube.