Communications companies are competing to squeeze the most technologically advanced memory and media features into the tiniest of devices, but some design ideas for the smallest cell phones and music players are not practical yet.

Sergei Urazhdin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physics at West Virginia University, is conducting research to better understand the scientific potential of miniaturizing these devices and making them more energy efficient.

He has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, titled “Development of Tunable Nanomagnetic Microwave Oscillators and Circuits,” valued at nearly $341,000 over three years. The grant will support research by Urazhdin and two graduate students aimed at developing miniature spintronic devices to replace the electronic components used in today’s communication technology. This study extends research supported by the NSF CAREER grant Urazhdin received in 2007.

Urazhdin is leader of the WVU Spintronics Group in the WVNano Initiative, West Virginia’s focal point for nanoscale science, engineering and education research; workforce development; and economic development.

Spintronic devices use the direction of the electron’s spin to encode information, and Urazhdin’s group works to develop these popular electronic devices on nanoscale. This research is made possible in a large part by access to WVNano’s research facilities.

Urazhdin earned a doctoral degree from Michigan State University and completed his postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University before joining WVU in 2005. He is a recipient of a 2008 Cottrell Scholar Award and a 2007 NSF CAREER Award for his work in nanotechnology and spintronics.

For more information, contact Sergei Urazhdin at (304) 293-3422 ext. 1472 or Sergei.Urazhdin@mail.wvu.edu.

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