Walt de Heer is a distinguished Dutch physicist renowned for his pioneering contributions to nanomaterials science and graphene research. He currently holds the prestigious position of Regents' Professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he directs the Epitaxial Graphene Laboratory and leads the Epitaxial Graphene Interdisciplinary Research Group. Additionally, he serves as an international affiliate at the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems (TICNN) at Tianjin University, contributing to global advancements in nanotechnology research. Dr. de Heer earned his doctoral degree in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986 under Walter D. Knight and subsequently built his academic career at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland from 1987 to 1997 before joining Georgia Tech.
His groundbreaking research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of nanoscale electronic phenomena, with seminal discoveries in the electronic shell structure of metal clusters and magnetism in transition metal clusters that established foundational principles in cluster physics. Dr. de Heer pioneered critical advancements in carbon nanotube research, particularly in field emission properties and ballistic conduction, which opened new pathways for nanoelectronics applications. His most influential work centers on epitaxial graphene technology, where he developed the confinement controlled sublimation method for producing large area structured epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide substrates, overcoming previous limitations in graphene electronics. Recent research has demonstrated that annealed edges in epitaxial graphene support a protected zero-energy edge state with a mean free path exceeding 50 microns, representing a major breakthrough for practical graphene-based nanoelectronics that potentially could succeed silicon technology.
As a visionary leader in the field, Dr. de Heer has cultivated extensive international collaborations, most notably through his affiliation with Tianjin University's TICNN, which has grown into a competitive research center publishing in top-tier journals including Nature Nanotechnology and Nature Materials. His laboratory serves as a training ground for the next generation of nanomaterials scientists, with numerous former students and postdocs establishing successful careers in academia and industry worldwide. The practical applications of his research continue to drive innovation in electronics, with his epitaxial graphene platform offering promising solutions for next-generation computing technologies that address limitations of traditional silicon-based electronics. Dr. de Heer remains actively engaged in pushing the boundaries of graphene research, focusing on developing seamless integrated structures that enable quantum coherent devices and new switching possibilities that could revolutionize nanoelectronics.
