Brian Willis

photo of Brian Willis on April 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)Brian Willis
Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1999)

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
191 Auditorium Road, Unit 3222
Storrs, CT 06269-3222
Office: PWEB 288
Phone: (860) 486-9429
Email:brian.willis@uconn.edu   Web: http://willislab.research.uconn.edu/

 

 

 


Research Interests

  • Epitaxial Oxides on Semiconductors
  • Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Investigations of Organic/Semiconductor Interfaces
  • Tunneling Spectroscopy for Molecular Electronics and Nano-Sensors
  • Nanoscale Investigations of Electrocatalysis

Awards & Honors

2007 Nanotech Measurement Contest (sponsored by Keithley Instruments, Inc.), 2nd place (with graduate student R. Gupta)
2005 National Science Foundation Career Award
2003 Emmert Faculty Fellow 2003
1992 Dow Award for 1st Course in Chemical Engineering

Recent Publications

Saidjafarzoda Ilhom, Deepa Shukla, Adnan Mohammad, John Grasso, Brian Willis, and Necmi Biyikli, “Understanding the role of rf-power on AlN film properties in hollow-cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A Vol.38, Issue 2, (2020) p. 022405          

Machine Learning Assisted Nanoparticle Based Chemiresistor Array for Explosive Detection, Tuo Gao, Chengwu Zhang, Yongchen Wang, Julian A. Diaz, Jing Zhao, and Brian G. Willis, IEEE Sensors Journal, 2020; doi:10.1109/JSEN.2020.3007493

Curry, E. B.; Saboo, S.; Herrera, C.; Sochnikov, I.; Alpay, P.; Hebert, R. J.; Willis, B. G.; Qi, J.; Hancock, J. N. “Optical response of intermetallic alloy Inconel-718 for applications in additive manufacturing,” Journal of Applied Physics, v. 127, p. 245111.  10.1063/5.0006006

Ilhom S, Mohammad A, Shukla D, Grasso J, Willis BG, et al. 2020. Elucidating the role of nitrogen plasma composition in the low-temperature self-limiting growth of indium nitride thin films. RSC Advances 10:27357-68.

S Ilhom, A Mohammad, J Grasso, BG Willis, AK Okyay, N Biyikli “Reducing the β-Ga2O3 Epitaxy Temperature to 240° C via Atomic Layer Plasma Processing,” ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 2023 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.2c01353

Adnan Mohammad, Krishna Joshi, Saidjafarzoda Ilhom, John Grasso, Barrett Wells, Brian G Willis, Ali Okyay and Necmi Biyikli, “Low-Temperature Self-Limiting Growth of Cubic Boron Nitride Via Hollow-Cathode Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition,” ECS Meeting Abstracts V. MA2022-02, DOI 10.1149/MA2022-02311128mtgabs

Zhang C, Gao T, Sheets D, Hancock JN, Tresback J, Willis B.G, “Tunable and scalable fabrication of plasmonic dimer arrays with sub-10 nm nanogaps by area-selective atomic layer deposition.” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B 39:053203, 2021.

Low-temperature synthesis of crystalline vanadium oxide films using oxygen plasmas, A Mohammad, KD Joshi, D Rana, S Ilhom, B Wells, B Willis, B Sinkovic, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 41 (3), 032405, 2023

Raman, R.; Grasso, J.; Willis, B. G., Heating Effects on Nanofabricated Plasmonic Dimers with Interconnects. International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems 2023, 32 (02n04), 2350004.

John Grasso, Jing Zhao, Brian Willis, “Utilizing Machine Learning for Rapid Discrimination and Quantification of Volatile Organic Compounds in an Electronic Nose Sensor Array,” International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems, submitted April 2023. 

Grasso, J.;  Zhao, J.; Willis, B. G., Utilizing Machine Learning for Rapid Discrimination and Quantification of Volatile Organic Compounds in an Electronic Nose Sensor Array. International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems 2023, 32 (02n04), 2350005.