(WASHINGTON)—The Howard University Graduate School is pleased to announce that Gary L. Harris, Ph.D., P.E., will deliver the keynote address during the Annual Hood Presentation Ceremony on Thursday, May 9 in Cramton Auditorium at 2 p.m.

“Dr. Harris is the epitome of the university motto—Veritas et Utilitas, Truth and Service. The contributions he made during his tenure as the Dean of the Graduate School have had an unparalleled positive impact on the Howard University community. We are grateful for Dr. Harris’s leadership,” says Dana A. Williams, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the Graduate School.

Harris served as dean of the Graduate School from 2012-2019 and concurrently as the associate provost for Research and Graduate Studies. He also oversaw the expansion of the Edward Bouchet Graduate Honor Society and the implementation of programs supporting graduate student funding, including the Just-Julian Research Fellowship.

Harris is a professor of electrical engineering and the director of the Howard Nanoscale Science and Engineering Facility in the College of Engineering and Architecture. He is also the director of the National Nanotechnology Network (NNIN) at Howard University. Harris has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, edited five books, and presented more than 200 papers at scientific conferences. He has also mentored and advised the research theses and dissertations of more than 150 master’s and Ph.D. graduates.

“Dr. Harris has been an incredible leader and support to my academic career. When I was Graduate Student Council President, he always provided a listening ear and provided great advice about how to advocate for graduate students. His office was always open and made sure that our issues and concerns were voiced. He had a deep love for graduate students and enjoyed intellectual dialogue with us. I will truly miss his leadership but I am happy that I was able to experience it,” said Kimberly Monroe, 2019 Ph.D. candidate in history.

Harris received his Ph.D., master of engineering, and bachelor of science degrees from Cornell University in electrical engineering-electro-physics in 1980, 1976, and 1975 respectively. His primary research interests are the growth and characterization of electronic and optical materials, the fabrication of semiconductor devices with special attention on wide band gap and compound semiconductor materials, and applications of nanotechnology. These materials include GaAs, SiC, graphene, diamond, and other III-V and IV-IV compounds. During the last eight years, Harris has focused on the growth and characterization of SiC and has designed and fabricated some novel devices in SiC (SiC inverters, photoconductors, FET’s, QCM, blood pressure sensors, etc.). He has also grown and characterized GaN, GaInN, InN, etc. nanowires and tubes for photonic and high-speed applications.

As key scientist of the Howard Nanoscale Science and Engineering Facility (HNF), Harris led his colleagues in creating the NanoExpress. The NanoExpress is a mobile “state of the art” laboratory exhibiting some of the latest science and technology at the nano dimension in a variety of disciplines. With the mantra, “People can’t do what they can’t imagine,” the mobile center is about expanding the scientific imagination of people from “K (kindergarten) to Grey.” It visits schools in the capital area, participates in the USA Science & Engineering Festival, and occasionally takes a tour up and down the east coast. Each year, the NanoExpress has more than 10,000 visitors.

Harris’s professional experience includes three years with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) where he designed prototype circuits and evaluated new magnetic recording systems and techniques.  In addition to serving as a review panelist for the National Science Foundation, Harris has served as a consultant to a number of companies that include the American Educational Council, Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratories, the Naval Research Laboratory, McDonnell Aircraft Company and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Previously, Harris was heard weekly on “Homepage,” the one-hour technical news-talk show on 1450 AM (Washington, DC), 1010 AM in Baltimore, and nationally on 169, the XM satellite radio band. Seeking to promote science, engineering, and technology to a wider audience, in December 2011, Harris launched a technical news-talk show, Nano Talk, on HUR Voices on Channel 141 through Sirius XM. He has also worked on television productions. “Chips are for Kids” and “Safety First” was featured on the PBS Special “Stuff of Dreams.”

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About Howard University Graduate School

Howard University offered its first master’s degree in 1867—the same year it was established. In 1934, the Graduate School was formally established and reorganized to its current structure with divisions in the arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences. The school awarded its first doctorate degree in 1958 in the field of chemistry. The school offers 24 master’s, 31 Ph.D. and 7 M.D./Ph.D. Programs. The Graduate School has consistently issued on average over 100 doctoral degrees per year for the last three years.  For more information, visit, www.gs.howard.edu 

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu