UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor Michael Gordon has been named a fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Fellowship recognizes members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions in areas of interest to the AVS. Gordon, who will become chair of the Chemical Engineering Department on July 1, was cited for “advances in synthesis, characterization, engineering, and simulation of nanostructured materials for applications in optoelectronics, energy, chemical conversion, and biology.”

“I am extremely honored to be elected by my peers as a fellow of the AVS,” said Gordon, whose previous honors include a Packard Fellowship and an Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. Gordon was also recently elected to serve as incoming Chair of the Plasma Science and Technology Division of the AVS for 2024. “I also see this as recognition for the numerous collaborators, mentors, and graduate students who I have worked with over the years.”

Gordon’s research is focused on synthesis, characterization, engineering, and simulation of nanostructured materials in many venues. He has made significant contributions and advances in multiple areas, including nitride semiconductors and micro-LEDs; understanding and engineering light-matter interactions in natural and synthetic systems; micro- and atmospheric- pressure plasmas for material synthesis and modification; and bio-inspired photonics and spectroelectrochemistry. His research group studies how size, morphology, organization, and surface structure affect the physicochemical properties and behaviors of materials over different length, time, and energy scales. 

The society has approximately 4,500 members worldwide from academia, governmental laboratories, and industry, who strive to promote research and communicate knowledge in the areas of surface, interface, vacuum, and thin-film science and technology. Gordon will be honored at an awards ceremony during the 69th AVS International Symposium and Exhibition in November.