Wide/Ultrawide Bandgap
Semiconductors Laboratory
Semiconductors Laboratory
Electrical &
Computer Engineering
Texas Tech University
The researchers, students, and staff advancing wide and ultrawide bandgap semiconductor science.
Ph.D. · Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Dr. Hieu P. Nguyen is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas Tech University. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2012 from McGill University. Dr. Nguyen is a recipient of the 2019 NSF CAREER Award, the 2019 Saul K. Fenster Innovation in Engineering Education Award, and the SPIE Scholarship in Optics and Photonics (2012), awarded for his potential long-range contributions to the field of optics, photonics, or a related field. He currently serves as an Editor of Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing (Elsevier).
Financial Manager
Email: sandra.branch@ttu.edu
Phone: 806.834.7023
Fulbright Visiting Researcher
Dr. Nguyen is a senior researcher at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. He received his Ph.D. from Ajou University, South Korea, in 2011, where he studied luminescent materials for energy applications. He subsequently completed postdoctoral research at National Taiwan University (2013–2015) on warm white LEDs and worked as a research fellow at University College London (2015–2016) on magnetic nanomaterials. His research interests focus on perovskite nanocrystals/quantum dots and III–V materials for optoelectronic devices. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, as well as one U.S. patent and two book chapters. He is currently a Fulbright visiting researcher at Texas Tech University, where he is working on Ga₂O₃-based resistive random-access memory (RRAM) for next-generation electronic devices.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Nethala is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Nano Tech Center, ECE Department, Texas Tech University. His research focuses on next-generation high-power and optoelectronic devices based on ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors. At TTU, he is currently developing novel Ga₂O₃, AlN, and III–V semiconductor devices for high-efficiency electronic and optoelectronic applications. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Hyderabad in 2016, where his research centered on HfO₂-based MOS devices. He previously held postdoctoral positions at IGCAR (as a SERB-NPDF Fellow), IIT Delhi (BRICS International Postdoctoral Fellow), the National University of Singapore (Senior Research Fellow), and Texas State University.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Maddaka received his Ph.D. in Physics from Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea, in August 2019. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Chungnam National University, the University of Michigan, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Notre Dame before joining our research group at Texas Tech University. His current research interests include the synthesis, device fabrication, and characterization of III-nitride semiconductors for optoelectronic and electronic devices, including light-emitters, sensors, water splitting, and CO₂ reduction applications.
Mano is currently a Ph.D. student at Texas Tech University. He obtained his Master's degree (MS by Research) in the Interdisciplinary Department (EE & Physics) from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India, in 2022, where he worked on devices for photonic and quantum technologies via femtosecond laser microstructuring. He joined our research group in Fall 2023. His current research focuses on molecular beam epitaxial growth of III-nitride wide bandgap semiconductors for photonics, flexible electronics, and memory device applications.
Injamamul is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Texas Tech University. He completed his B.S. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Bangladesh, in 2017, and his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas State University in Summer 2024. He worked on the growth and characterization of gallates (including CuGa₂O₄, MgGa₂O₄, ZnGa₂O₄) during his Master's at TSU. He joined our research group in Fall 2024. His research focuses on the epitaxial growth and fabrication of wide and ultrawide bandgap semiconductors for applications in harsh environments, optoelectronics, and photonics.
Uriel is currently a Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Texas Tech University. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas Tech University in 2024. He joined the W/UWBG group in Spring 2025 under the DOD Workforce Program. His research focuses on material development, characterization, and device fabrication of III-nitride semiconductors for optoelectronics.
Jordan completed her Bachelor of Engineering at Texas Tech University's Electrical and Computer Engineering Program in May 2025 and began her graduate studies in May 2025. She joined our research group in Spring 2025 under the DOD Workforce Development Program. Her current research focuses on nanowire high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs).
Justin completed his undergraduate studies in Texas Tech University's Electrical and Computer Engineering Program and began his Ph.D. program in Fall 2025.
Swetha is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Nano Tech Center, Texas Tech University. She joined our research group in Fall 2025. Before joining TTU, she worked as an SoC Emulation Engineer at NXP Semiconductors, Austin, where she gained hands-on experience in pre-silicon validation, debug, and system-level emulation of complex ARM-based SoCs. She received her M.S. in Computer and Systems Engineering from the University of Houston in 2023. Her present research focuses on III-nitride wide bandgap semiconductors, with applications in nanoelectronics, photonics, and memory devices. She is particularly interested in device physics and bandgap engineering.
Marshall is currently an Ph.D student at Texas Tech University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He joined our research group in May 2024 as part of the Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement program (DOD SCALE), and is currently investigating wet-etching approaches and their applications for fabricating nanowire LED and nanoelectronic devices.
William received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Angelo State University, Texas. He joined our research group in Fall 2024 as a Master's student under the DOD SCALE (Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement) program. He is co-supervised by Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Jacob Stephens. His research focuses on the fabrication and characterization of III-nitride semiconductor devices for extreme conditions and pulsed power applications.
Tamara is a graduate student in the ECE Department at Texas Tech University, currently pursuing a Master's in Electrical Engineering. She obtained her prior degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research focuses on the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. Her additional interests include biosensors, wearable MEMS and NEMS devices, and energy-harvesting technology.
Vance is currently a Master's student in Electrical Engineering at Texas Tech University. He is supported by the DARPA Three-Dimensional Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) Program. His research focuses on the development of efficient memory devices.
Lorenzo is an undergraduate Electrical Engineering student at Texas Tech University. He has attended Texas Tech since 2022 and is on track to graduate in 2025. He joined the research group in 2024 as a DOD SCALE fellow in RF/Optoelectronics. His research is on nanowire LEDs and RRAM devices.
Samuel is an undergraduate Electrical and Computer Engineering student at Texas Tech University. He joined Texas Tech in Fall 2023. He has a passion for everyday electronics and wants to improve the lives of people around him. He joined our lab in Spring 2025 under the DOD Workforce Development Program. His research focuses on developing high-power light-emitting diodes.
Tyler is an undergraduate in Computer Engineering at Texas Tech University. He joined our lab in May 2025 under the DARPA 3DHI program. His research focuses on developing high-power optoelectronic devices.
Pilot is an undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence, especially how these tools can be used to help discover and study new materials for semiconductor applications. He joined our lab in December 2025 under the DOD Advanced Semiconductor Power Devices Program.
Ishwor is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at Texas Tech University. He joined our research group in 2024 through the Undergraduate Research Scholars (URS) program at the TTU Honors College. Under the mentorship of Dr. Nguyen, his research focuses on Micro LEDs and memory devices as an undergraduate research assistant.
Zackary is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at Texas Tech University, graduating in 2029. He conducts research in the Advanced Semiconductors and Ultra-Wide Band-Gap Laboratory, specializing in advanced machine learning for automation and epitaxial growth process optimization. He joined our lab in May 2025 under the DOD Workforce Development Program.
Nicholas is currently an undergraduate student in Computer Engineering at Texas Tech University. He joined the W/UWBG Semiconductor Group at TTU in Fall 2025 through the TrUE Scholars program. He is now involved in the Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement (DOD SCALE) program, focusing his research on nanophotonics.