VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., Commonwealth Professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering, has been named a recipient of the 2018 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award.

Bandyopadhyay, who teaches in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at VCU, is an international leader in spintronics, the science of using the spin properties of electrons to store, process and communicate information. His work extends into nanostructured devices. Bandyopadhyay pioneered the electrochemical self-assembly of nanostructures and co-holds a patent on this invention.

“Professor Bandyopadhyay's dedication to research, discovery and advancement of knowledge is magnified by SCHEV's awarding of the Outstanding Faculty Award to him,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “I am grateful for Supriyo's scholarship and exemplary work as an educator.”

Bandyopadhyay has authored or co-authored nearly 400 research publications and presented nearly 150 invited or keynote talks at conferences, colloquia and seminars on four continents. He is the author of three textbooks, including the only English-language textbook on spintronics.

In 2017, VCU presented Bandyopadhyay with the University Award of Excellence, one of the highest honors bestowed on a faculty member. In 2016, he was named one of Virginia's Outstanding Scientists and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. His department gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award for sustained contributions in research, education and service in 2015. In 2012, VCU honored him with the Distinguished Scholarship Award — the university’s highest award for scholarship.

Bandyopadhyay is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — where he is a Nanotechnology Council Distinguished Lecturer — the Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, the Electrochemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the editorial boards of 11 international journals and is the founding chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Spintronics (Nanotechnology Council).

The Outstanding Faculty Award program is administered by the Virginia State Council of Higher Education and funded by a grant from the Dominion Foundation, which has fully supported the program since 2005.

Bandyopadhyay will be honored on March 1, along with 11 other recipients for excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration and public service during a ceremony and luncheon at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.