Eray Adil
Eray Aydil is the Alstadt Lord Mark Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering, Chairman of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the AVS Editor-in-Chief. As the AVS Editor-in-Chief, he helps direct the AVS journal portfolio and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A & B. His research revolves around thin film deposition and materials synthesis for energy conversion and sustainable manufacturing. He specifically focuses on reducing the cost and increasing the efficiencies of solar cells.
Eray received his B.S. degrees in chemical engineering and materials science, both from U. C. Berkeley in 1986 and his Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering in 1991 from the University of Houston. He was a postdoc at Bell Labs until 1993, when he joined the chemical engineering department faculty at U.C. Santa Barbara (UCSB) as an assistant professor. At UCSB, he rose up the ranks to become a full professor and vice chairman of the department. He left UCSB in 2005 and joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS) at the University of Minnesota (UMN), where he remained until 2018; between 2009 and 2014, he served as the Executive Officer of CEMS. At CEMS, he was the Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy. In 2018 he moved to NYU, and in 2021 he was appointed the Chairman of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department.
Eray has published over 200 articles and holds seven patents. In recognition of his research, he has received the Peter Mark Award and the Plasma Prize from the AVS, the Norman Hackerman Young Author Award of the Electrochemical Society, the National Young Investigator Award of the NSF, and the Camille-Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. He is a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS) and a Fellow of the UMN Institute on the Environment. He has received numerous teaching awards, including the Professor of the year award several times at UCSB and most recently the Horace T. Morse-UMN Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education in 2017.
Eray started his AVS journey as a student in 1990 at an AVS-sponsored meeting in Texas. His Ph.D. advisor, Demetre Economou, encouraged him to attend and give a presentation. Two years later, Eray attended his first Symposium in Chicago. Again, his postdoc advisor at AT&T Bell Labs, Richard Gottscho, encouraged him to present at that Symposium. Eray feels that AVS has historically always welcomed students, which he appreciates to this day, “I think students feel more comfortable and less nervous at AVS meetings. I have not seen anyone get up and unnecessarily challenge a student presenter in a way that made the student uncomfortable at an AVS Symposium.” Although his student years have passed, Eray still finds the Society welcoming, inclusive, and friendly. He cites this as one of his favorite things about AVS.
Besides the people, Eray also values the science of the Society. He finds it interdisciplinary, dynamic and filled with professionals from a variety of sectors. He points towards an example of this at the Annual Symposium. “Industrial involvement brings interesting and important problems to those of us who are in academia. The industrial interactions I have at AVS symposia introduce a sense of pragmatism into my research. AVS draws from the industry as no other Society does.” He also truly appreciates that “AVS is an interdisciplinary and dynamic Society. The topics covered in the symposia change depending on the interest of the members.” Along with making his contributions, Eray enjoys the opportunity to learn from the many and varied professionals who contribute to the AVS membership. He finds his AVS Editor-in-Chief role very rewarding: besides being exposed to all the research topics that AVS members conduct, Eray likes to engage the early-career scientists and authors in the Society and the AVS journals.
Just for fun, we asked Eray some questions to get to know him better. Eray is a triathlete, marathon runner, and amateur Chef. We also learned that Eray’s family is extremely important to him. He had a lot to say about them. His 21-year old son, majoring in political science and French at Hunter College, “knows everything there is to know about Broadway and Disney.” Eray enjoys going to theater and musicals with him, as well as watching hockey. The Aydils like to spend time at their place in York, located on the Southern Maine coast. Eray’s family also feels passionate about advocating for people with disabilities, particularly young people and students.