BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Alexander A. Balandin is a distinguished professor and vice chair for graduate education at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He holds the appointment of the Fang Lu Endowed Chair in Engineering, directs the Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (UCLA POEM) Laboratory at the MSE department, and the Brillouin – Mandelstam Spectroscopy (BMS) Laboratory at The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI). Before rejoining UCLA, he served as a founding chair of the MSE program and director of the Nano-Fab at a sister UC campus in Riverside. He received his Diploma in Applied Physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Russia, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, USA.

Professor Balandin’s expertise is in the physics of materials. Among his research achievements are the pioneering investigation of the acoustic phonons and thermal conductivity of graphene and few-layer graphene; introduction of the first thermal applications of graphene; the study of the acoustic phonon confinement effects in semiconductor nanostructures; the development of the concept of phonon engineering; the demonstration of the first room-temperature charge-density-wave devices; and the use of low-frequency electronic noise measurements for material characterization. He invented the optothermal technique for measuring the thermal conductivity of 2D materials by converting a Raman spectrometer into a heater and a temperature sensor. The technique became a standard method in numerous laboratories worldwide. He is also recognized for his contributions to thermal management and packaging technologies for electronic devices and systems. 

Professor Balandin’s current research interests include low-dimensional 1D/2D van der Waals materials; charge density waves and strongly correlated phenomena in materials; Brillouin-Mandelstam and Raman inelastic light scattering spectroscopies; electron and phonon transport in quantum, topological, and chiral materials; thermal conductivity and thermal management; low-frequency 1/f noise in materials; ultra-wide-band-gap semiconductors; emerging electronic devices and quantum technologies.

Professor Balandin received the MRS Medal from the Materials Research Society and the Pioneer of Nanotechnology Award from the IEEE Society for his graphene, phononics, and nanotechnology research. He is an elected fellow of MRS, APS, IEEE, OSA, SPIE, AAAS, and the Institute of Physics professional societies. He was a visiting professor and elected fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, U.K. He is the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow. He serves as a Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Applied Physics Letters (APL). Professor Balandin has graduated more than 40 Ph.D. students who enjoy successful careers in the U.S. industry, government laboratories, and academia.

For Professor Balandin’s brief biography click BIO-2025, for a complete CV click CV-2025. For more insights on his career and research for non-experts, read the story in the MRS at UCLA Alumni Newsletter. For more information about unique experimental facilities available in Balandin Group, see the CNSI at UCLA press release about the Brillouin-Mandelstam light scattering spectrometer.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Fang Lu Endowed Chair in Engineering, 2025 – present 

The Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, 2022 – 2026

The Brillouin Medal – International Phononics Society, 2019
“For the discovery of unique phonon properties of graphene, and contributions to the development of graphene thermal management applications.”

The MRS Medal – The Materials Research Society, 2013
“For the discovery of the extraordinarily high intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene, development of an original optothermal measurement technique for investigation of thermal properties of graphene, and theoretical explanation of the unique features of the phonon transport in graphene”

Fellow of MRS – The Materials Research Society, 2014
“For pioneering contributions on the thermal properties of graphene and low-dimensional materials; seminal contributions to the study of quantum confinement effects in nanostructures; and leadership in materials education.”

Fellow of IEEE – The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 2013
“For contributions to the characterization of thermo-electric properties of semiconductor nanostructures and graphene.”

Fellow of APS – The American Physical Society, 2012
“For pioneering studies of phonon transport in graphene and outstanding contributions to the investigation of confined phonons and excitons in semiconductor nanostructures.”

Fellow of IOM3 – The Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining, U.K., 2012
“For pioneering contributions to the investigation of thermal properties of carbon materials such as graphene and its derivatives as well as his development of the phonon engineering concept for nanoscale materials.”

Fellow of IOP – The Institute of Physics, U.K., 2012
“For studies of physical properties of semiconductor nanostructures and graphene.”

The Pioneer of Nanotechnology Award – IEEE, 2011
“For pioneering contributions to nanoscale phonon transport with applications in nanodevices, graphene devices, thermoelectric and thermal management of advanced electronics.”

Fellow of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering, 2011
“For distinguished contributions to the investigation of optical and phonon properties of semiconductor nanostructures.”

Fellow of OSA – The Optical Society of America, 2011
“For outstanding contributions to understanding optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures and pioneering work on opto-thermal metrology of graphene.”

Fellow of AAAS – The American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2007
“For distinguished contributions to understanding phonon confinement in nanostructures and investigation of thermal phenomena in semiconductors and devices.”

SELECTED REVIEW ARTICLES

A. A. Balandin, “Thermal properties of graphene and nanostructured carbon materials,” Nature Materials, 10, 569 (2011);

A. A. Balandin, “Low-frequency 1/f noise in graphene devices,” Nature Nanotechnology, 8, 549 (2013);

A. A. Balandin, “Phononics of graphene and related materials,” ACS Nano, 14, 5170 (2020);

F. Kargar, A. A. Balandin, “Advances in Brillouin–Mandelstam light-scattering spectroscopy,” Nature Photonics, 15, 720 (2021).

A. A. Balandin, et al., “One-dimensional van der Waals quantum materials,” Materials Today, 55, 74 (2022).

SELECTED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

A. A. Balandin and K. L. Wang, “Significant decrease of the lattice thermal conductivity due to phonon confinement in a free-standing semiconductor quantum well,” Phys. Rev. B, 58, 1544 (1998);

A. A. Balandin, S. Ghosh, W. Bao, I. Calizo, D. Teweldebrhan, F. Miao, and C. N. Lau, “Superior thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene,” Nano Lett., 8, 902 (2008);

S. Ghosh, W. Bao, D. L. Nika, S. Subrina, E. P. Pokatilov, C. N. Lau, and A. A. Balandin, “Dimensional crossover of thermal transport in few-layer graphene,” Nature Mater., 9, 555 (2010);

Z. Yan, G. Liu, J. M. Khan, and A. A. Balandin, “Graphene quilts for thermal management of high-power GaN transistors,” Nature Com., 3, 827 (2012);

S. Rumyantsev, G. Liu, M. S. Shur, R. A. Potyrailo, and A. A. Balandin, “Selective gas sensing with a single pristine graphene transistor,” Nano Lett., 12, 2294 (2012);

G. Liu, B. Debnath, T. R. Pope, T. T. Salguero, R. K. Lake, and A. A. Balandin, “A charge-density-wave oscillator based on an integrated tantalum disulfide–boron nitride–graphene device operating at room temperature,” Nature Nano, 11, 845 (2016);

F. Kargar, B. Debnath, J.-P. Kakko, A. Säynätjoki, H. Lipsanen, D. L. Nika, R. K. Lake, and A. A. Balandin, “Direct observation of confined acoustic phonon polarization branches in free-standing semiconductor nanowires,” Nature Com., 7, 13400 (2016);

S. Rumyantsev, M. Balinskiy, F. Kargar, A. Khitun, and A. A. Balandin, “The discrete noise of magnons,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 114, 090601 (2019);

S. Ghosh, H. Surdi, F. Kargar, F. Koeck, S. Rumyantsev, S. Goodnick, R. J. Nemanich, and A. A. Balandin, “Excess noise in high-current diamond diodes”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 120, 062103 (2022);

E. Guzman, F. Kargar, F. Angeles, R. V. Meidanshahi, T. Grotjohn, A. Hardy, M. Muehle, R. B. Wilson, S. M. Goodnick, and A. A. Balandin “Effects of boron doping on the bulk and surface acoustic phonons in single-crystal diamond”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 14, 37, 42223 (2022);

Z. Barani, T. Geremew, M. Stokey, N. Sesing, M. Taheri, M. J. Hilfiker, F. Kargar, M. Schubert, T. T. Salguero, and A. A. Balandin, “Quantum composites with charge-density-wave fillers”, Adv. Mater., 2209708 (2023);

J. Teeter, N. Y. Kim, T. Debnath, N. Sesing, T. Geremew, D. Wright, M. Chi, A. Z. Stieg, J. Miao, R. K. Lake, T. T. Salguero, and A. A. Balandin “Achieving the 1D atomic chain limit in Van der Waals crystals” Adv. Mater, 2409898 (2024).

J. O. Brown, T. Guo, F. Pasqualetti, and A. A. Balandin, “Charge-density-wave quantum oscillator networks for solving combinatorial optimization problems,” Phys. Rev. Appl., 24, 024040 (2025).

HIGHLIGHTS OF ORIGINAL IDEAS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Phonon Engineering: In 1997, Dr. A. A. Balandin, as a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA, envisioned that by changing the spectrum of acoustic phonons in nanostructures via spatial confinement, one could modify the interaction of phonons with defects and change the phonon thermal conductivity. Previously, in the context of thermal transport, the energy dispersion of acoustic phonons was assumed to be the same as in “bulk” semiconductors, even in free-standing nanostructures. The phonon–boundary scattering was the only nanoscale-related mechanism affecting the phonon heat conduction in nanostructures. His Phys. Rev. B (1998) was the first report that described the acoustic phonon confinement effect on thermal transport and introduced the term “phonon engineering” in a journal publication. It took years, but eventually, the idea of the phonon wave interference effects, another name for the phonon confinement, became conventionally accepted. In 2016, Professor Balandin and his group members demonstrated experimentally the spatial confinement of acoustic phonons in individual semiconductor nanowires, proving that the acoustic phonon spectrum is strongly modified even in nanowires with relatively large diameters (Nature Commun. (2016)). The phonon engineering concepts and approaches are now being incorporated into the design of devices to increase energy conversion efficiency, enhance electron mobility, improve heat removal, and fine-tune the light-matter interactions. The phonon engineering concept became the mainstream research direction with practical applications. Professor Balandin was recognized for this work with the IEEE Pioneer in Nanotechnology Award (2011), a Fellow of IEEE, numerous plenary, keynote, and invited talks at the top conferences, such as the international biannual PHONONICS, flagship IEEE NANO, invited reviews in Materials Today, MRS Bulletin, and several U.S. patents granted in the nanophononics field.

Graphene Thermal Field: After the first exfoliation of graphene and electrical measurements in 2004, the research community has focused on the linear energy dispersion of electrons in graphene and its implications for electronic transport. In 2008, Professor Balandin went in an entirely different direction by conducting pioneering studies of the thermal properties of graphene. His first paper on the subject, Nano Letters (2008), has been cited more than 17,500 times. Following the experimental discovery that the thermal conductivity of graphene can be higher than that of the basal planes of graphite, he explained this non-trivial fact theoretically by the specifics of the 2D phonon transport in graphene in Nature Mat. (2010), Phys. Rev. B (2010) and Nature Mat. (2011). In 2011, expanding this research field to engineering applications, his group developed the first thermal interface materials (TIMs) and the first thermal phase change materials (PCMs) with graphene and few-layer graphene. In later years, the Balandin Group demonstrated the application of graphene thermal technologies with computers, solar cells, and battery packs. The new optothermal method for measuring thermal conductivity, which Professor Balandin developed for graphene, has been extended to other 2D materials and adopted in many laboratories worldwide. The graphene thermal technologies have become the real large-scale practical application of graphene – one can now buy commercial thermal paste or epoxies with graphene fillers, or even sports jackets with graphene-enhanced textiles for better heat spreading. For these research achievements, Professor Balandin was recognized with The MRS Medal from the Materials Research Society, a Fellow of MRS, The Brillouin Medal, numerous plenary, keynote, and invited talks at the top conferences such as Graphene Week, MRS Fall and Spring Meetings, Nature Conference, invited reviews in Nature Mat., Reports on Progress in Physics, and ACS Nano, a feature article in IEEE Spectrum and other magazines. He received several U.S. patents in the graphene thermal field.

Noise Spectroscopy: In 1998, Dr. Balandin entered the field of low-frequency electronic noise as an electrical engineer, trying to reduce the 1/f noise in field-effect transistors based on wide-band-gap semiconductors (f is the frequency). The task was accomplished with the noise reduced by several orders of magnitude to the level acceptable for materials’ applications in communication systems. In 2009, Professor Balandin started investigating the noise in graphene and other 2D materials to remove the barrier for their applications in sensors, detectors, and communication devices. At about that time, he started to look at noise as a materials scientist and turned things upside down in the graphene electronic field by treating low-frequency noise as a signal. In Nano Letter (2012), his group demonstrated an innovative graphene sensor, where the noise was used as a signal – allowing one to distinguish different gases by characteristic peaks in the noise spectra. The group also discovered that the noise mechanism in graphene is not the same as in semiconductors, and used few-layer graphene to address the century-old problem of distinguishing whether 1/f noise is a volume or a surface phenomenon. From 2016, the Balandin Group started to develop approaches for using noise measurements as a materials characterization tool to monitor phase transitions in charge density wave materials and other strongly correlated quantum materials. Current fluctuations, i.e., low-frequency noise, are more sensitive to phase transitions and charge density wave depinning than the current-voltage characteristics. The innovative noise spectroscopy approaches were used to monitor charge density waves in 2D van der Waals materials. Noise spectroscopy was also applied to test the reliability of diamond and other ultra-wide-band-gap semiconductor devices. Professor Balandin was recognized for these achievements with the election to Fellow of SPIE, plenary talks at the top noise conference, e.g., International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), Gainesville, USA, and in Neuchâtel, Switzerland; serving as a General Chair of the SPIE Noise Conference and member of the international committee for Unsolved Problems of Noise (UPON); editing a book Noise and Fluctuations Control in Electronic Devices, which became a standard reference source; and invited review in Nature Nano on 1/f noise in graphene.

CDW Materials: In 2012, Professor Balandin became interested in strongly correlated phenomena in 2D materials. When researchers were trying to come up with a 2D material that has a bandgap and can complement the gapless graphene, the Balandin Group focused on charge-density-wave (CDW) phenomena in 2D materials to achieve new device functionalities. In Nature Nano (2016), the group reported the first CDW quantum device, a voltage-controlled oscillator based on 2D CDW material, operational at room temperature. In 2023, the group achieved a breakthrough, reported in Advanced Materials (2023), demonstrating the first “quantum composite” with the unique functionality achieved via CDW condensate transitions above room temperature. Professor Balandin was recognized for these achievements with many invited talks on 2D and 1D CDW materials at MRS Spring Meetings, APS March Meetings, SPIE conferences, and other top international conferences. In 2022, he was awarded the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship to investigate 1D quantum materials.