Judy, a native of Garden City, Long Island NY, earned her undergraduate degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics at UC Berkeley in 1980, and her MS and PhD degrees in Applied Physics at Stanford University in 1983 and 1987, respectively. She remained at Stanford as Research Associate and then Senior Research Associate until she joined the faculty of the MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department as Professor in 2000.
Judy was a pioneer in the development of one of the semiconductor manufacturing technologies that underly all of modern electronics. Her most recognized contribution was the first demonstration of the incorporation of lattice strain as means of performance enhancement in scaled silicon devices, a key concept behind the continuation of Moore’s Law roadmap for the last twenty years and that is present in virtually every high-performance chip manufactured today. The device scaling that Judy’s work enabled has been among the most important factors that not only drive the $500B semiconductor industry, but also the multi-trillion-dollar electronics market. Judy’s contributions earned her the 2011 IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award (together with Eugene Fitzgerald) and the 2018 University Research Award by the Semiconductor Industry Association in collaboration with the Semiconductor Research Corporation.
Throughout her academic career Judy was a dedicated teacher and great mentor to her students at both Stanford and MIT, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in the semiconductor industry. At MIT she was a key contributor in the running of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories where she served as Associate Director from 2005 to 2018, and she was also an effective proponent and then a key contributor to the configuration and design of the new MIT.nano building.
All who knew Judy will remember her as a gentle soul and caring friend. Behind her puckish humor and unassuming demeanor lay a stern wisdom, unimpeachable sense of responsibility, and passionate loyalty to her students and her family. In addition to the IEDM memorial, a reception in Judy’s honor at MIT will be announced later. At present, contributions in Judy’s memory could be made to St. Jude’s Hospital or the Jimmy Fund in Boston.
By Dimitri Antoniadis and Jane Halpern, MIT