H.-S. Philip Wong stands as a preeminent figure in semiconductor technology and nanoscale engineering. He currently holds the prestigious Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professorship in the School of Engineering at Stanford University, where he has served as Professor of Electrical Engineering since 2004. Prior to his academic appointment, Wong spent sixteen formative years at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where he advanced from Research Staff Member to leadership positions that shaped IBM's strategy in nanoscale science and exploratory silicon devices. His distinguished educational background includes a B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Hong Kong (1982), an M.S. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1983), and a Ph.D. from Lehigh University (1988), all in electrical engineering.
Professor Wong's research has fundamentally advanced the frontiers of semiconductor technology, with particular contributions to carbon electronics, two-dimensional layered materials, and novel memory devices that have shaped the trajectory of next-generation computing systems. His pioneering work on non-volatile memory technologies, including phase change memory and metal oxide resistance change memory, has provided critical pathways for overcoming the limitations of traditional silicon-based memory architectures. Wong's leadership in brain-inspired computing and three-dimensional system integration has catalyzed new approaches to artificial intelligence hardware that promise orders of magnitude improvements in energy efficiency. His research philosophy of translating scientific discoveries into practical technologies has yielded numerous patents and influenced product development across the semiconductor industry, with his contributions recognized by the IEEE Electron Devices Society J.J. Ebers Award in 2019, the society's highest honor for lasting technical impact.
Beyond his laboratory research, Wong has established himself as a visionary leader through his founding role as Faculty Co-Director of the Stanford SystemX Alliance, an industrial affiliate program dedicated to advancing system-level innovation across multiple technology domains. His directorship of the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility, a National Science Foundation-sponsored shared resource serving researchers globally, has positioned him at the nexus of academic and industrial semiconductor development. Currently serving as Principal Investigator of the Microelectronics Commons California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub—a CHIPS Act-funded consortium of over forty companies and academic institutions—Wong is spearheading national efforts to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing and innovation. His dual role as Chief Scientist of TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, enables him to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial implementation, ensuring that fundamental discoveries translate into next-generation semiconductor products that will power the artificial intelligence revolution.
