Join Our Team!

The Institute of Materials Research (IMR) at Washington State University brings together students, researchers, faculty, and collaborators working on advanced materials discovery, crystal growth, device fabrication, and materials characterization.

Our research spans semiconductor, optical, energy, nuclear, and functional materials, with current activities including:

Crystal Growth: CdTe, CdZnTe, CdSeTe, ZnSe, ZnTe, Ga₂O₃, sapphire, ruby, laser crystals, halide/perovskite materials, and related semiconductor and optical crystals
Semiconductor Defects & Doping: dopant activation, compensation, point defects, deep-level states, carrier transport, and defect engineering
Electronic Characterization: Hall effect, I–V, C–V, DLTS, TSC/TEES, TLM, and temperature-dependent electrical measurements
Optical Characterization: UV-Vis, FTIR, Raman, PL, TRPL, infrared imaging, and related spectroscopy
Structural & Microstructural Characterization: XRD, SEM, EDS, EBSD, cathodoluminescence, and Nano-CT
Micro/Nanofabrication: photolithography, thin-film deposition, metallization, etching, thermal processing, and semiconductor device fabrication
Materials Modeling: defect calculations, materials-property relationships, and physics-based interpretation of experimental measurements

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students interested in gaining hands-on research experience are encouraged to contact IMR faculty and staff. Projects may involve crystal growth, sample preparation, materials characterization, semiconductor measurements, data analysis, and microfabrication.

Students from Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and related disciplines are welcome.

Graduate Students

Graduate research opportunities are available through participating WSU faculty and research programs. Students may work on projects involving crystal growth, semiconductor defect chemistry, electronic and optical materials, photovoltaics, radiation detection, ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors, optical materials, and advanced characterization.

Postdoctoral Researchers

IMR hosts postdoctoral researchers working across experimental and computational materials science. Opportunities depend on available research projects and funding.

Researchers with backgrounds in crystal growth, semiconductor physics, materials characterization, electronic devices, optical materials, computational materials science, and related areas are encouraged to inquire about potential opportunities.

Visiting Researchers & Collaborators

We welcome collaboration with researchers from universities, national laboratories, government agencies, and industry.

IMR facilities support projects ranging from individual characterization measurements to longer-term collaborative research involving crystal growth, materials processing, device fabrication, and multimodal characterization.

Research Environment

IMR provides access to a broad combination of materials synthesis, processing, fabrication, and characterization capabilities within one research environment. Students and researchers can participate in projects spanning the full materials development cycle:

Crystal Growth → Processing & Doping → Device Fabrication → Structural / Optical / Electrical Characterization → Defect Analysis → Materials Optimization

Interested in Joining IMR?

Prospective students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting researchers, and collaborators who are interested in joining or working with IMR are encouraged to contact us.

Please include:

a brief description of your research interests,
your CV or résumé,
relevant research experience, and
the type of research opportunity or collaboration you are seeking.

For research opportunities and collaboration inquiries, please contact:

Prof. John McCloy — john.mccloy@wsu.edu
Prof. Dave Field — dfield@wsu.edu

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