The Purdue Board of Trustees on February 21st approved Joerg Appenzeller as the Barry M. and Patricia L. Epstein Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Professor Appenzeller is professor of electrical and computer engineering and scientific director of nanoelectronics in the Birck Nanotechnology Center. Prior to coming to Purdue in 2007, he was a research staff member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, an assistant professor and leader of the Mesoscopic Physics Group at the Technical University of Aachen in Aachen, Germany, and a visiting scientist and temporary research staff member in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Appenzeller's research interests include experimenting with novel device concepts to improve transistor performance, exploration of nanomaterials and future nanoelectronics applications.

A fellow in the American Physical Society and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Professor Appenzeller received the 2009 IBM Faculty Award and the Jack Raper Award at the 2003 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference.

He received his bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees from the Technical University Aachen, Germany.

The Barry M. and Patricia L. Epstein Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering was made possible through an endowment established in 2005 by Barry Epstein, a Purdue alumnus, and his wife. Barry Epstein, who is president, CEO and chair of Technology 21, received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue. He was named one of the 2011 Distinguished Engineering Alumni.