Biography

Dr. Curt A. Richter is an experimental physicist and Group Leader of a dynamic team of research scientists in the Nanoelectronics Group of the Engineering Physics Division, Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Group conducts basic research to develop the measurement science needed for innovation in future nanoelectronic and thin-film devices. Richter has worked in the Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD since 1993.

Dr. Richter received the M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Physics from Yale University after receiving a B.S. in Physics from The College of William and Mary. After graduating from Yale, Dr. Richter joined NIST directly. Technically, he currently focuses on extracting critical properties of future nanoelectronic devices for use in high performance computing systems. He is an expert in the quantum properties of low-dimensional systems and has experience studying mesoscopic physics and quantum interference effects in semiconductor devices by using magnetotransport measurements. During Richter's tenure at NIST he has strongly engaged with the semiconductor industry through direct collaborations and through joint planning and oversight activities at the Semiconductor Research Council (SRC). Richter is an author of more than 160 technical articles and editor of one book.

Richter has engaged in many leadership and service roles at Conferences, Professional Societies, in public/private consortia, and within the Federal service: for example, American Institute of Physics (AIP) Prize Selection Committee, Frequent APS March Meeting Abstract Sorter, Member of the Technical Board of the Electronic Materials Conference (EMC), Former-Chairman of the International Semiconductor Device Research Symposium (ISDRS): Nanoelectronic Computing Research (nCORE) Science Advisory Board (SAB) member, and Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) Technical Program Group (TPG) member, Richter is a US technical expert in Nanotechnologies for ISO, and his federal leadership roles include, co-chair of the Federal Government’s Interagency Coordination Team for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), National Signature Initiative (NSI): Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond, and Working Group Member for the NNI Grand Challenge for Future Computing.

Statement

As a member at large on the FIAP Executive Committee, I will strive to help address what I consider to be the three main issues facing the applied physics community: (1) the education of young physicists, (2) jobs and the availability of a highly-trained workforce, and (3) focused research activities and funding. I will endeavor to increase awareness in and improve the direct relationship between industry and the academic community. The FIAP must continue to strongly support the education and training of young applied physicists to ensure that the academic community continues to deliver a skilled technical workforce for our industrial partners. In addition, I will use role in the FIAP to remind the industrial community of the creativity and flexibility of a highly-educated, well-trained physicist. Combining physics and ingenuity can lead to industrial innovation that will enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Being an applied physicist at NIST, which is in the Department of Commerce, gives me a rare perspective on the relationship between academic researchers, federal government lab needs, and industrial applications and goals. I believe strongly in public/private organizations that combine the strengths of industrial partners with those of the federal government to identify, inspire, and fund important applied research topics. I would hope that I can use the platform of the FIAP to help enable the formation of more such public/private partnerships.