C. GrantWillson

Texas Engineer Grant Willson
Professor EmeritusRashid Engineering Regents Chair

Research Areas
Research Interests

Polymers, materials and processes for microelectronics; Photoresists; Liquid crystals; Computer simulation; Kinetics; Graft polymerization; Biosensor arrays; Nanometer scale structures

About

C. Grant Willson’s research, supported by grants from both government and industry, focused on the design and synthesis of functional organic materials with emphasis on organic materials for microelectronics. During his tenure, he served as advisor for more than 90 Ph.D. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1993 after working at IBM for 17 years where he was an IBM Fellow and manager of Polymer Science and Technology in San Jose.

He is cofounder of Molecular Imprints, Inc., an Austin firm that employed more than 100 people that was acquired by Canon, and is co-inventor on more than 40 US patents. He has coauthored more than 400 publications.

In addition to being an IBM Fellow, Dr. Willson is a fellow of ACS, SPIE, and MRS and a member of the NAE, APS, SPE, AAAS, ASEE, ECS, and Sigma Xi.

Dr. Willson was presented with the National Medal for Technology and Innovation (2008) by the president of the United States and in 2013 shared the Japan Prize (with Jean Fréchet) for his groundbreaking achievements in semiconductor materials and marine ecology. From the ACS he has received the Arthur Doolittle Award, Chemistry of Materials Award, and Carothers Award, among others. In addition, he was selected for the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientists Award from the Federal Republic of Germany and the National Academy of Sciences Award for Chemistry in Service to Society.

Educational Qualifications

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (1973)
M.S., San Diego State University (1969)
B.S., University of California, Berkeley (1962)

Select Awards & Honors

  • Award in Polymer Chemistry – American Chemical Society (2018)
  • Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award – The University of Texas at Austin (2016-2017)
  • Researcher award – Semiconductor Industry Association (2015)
  • Japan Prize (2013)
  • Inventor of the Year – The University of Texas at Austin (2012)
  • Fellow – Materials Research Society (2012)
  • Inaugural Fellow, American Chemical Society (2009)
  • Gordon E. Moore Medal – Science History Institute (2009)
  • National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2007)
  • SEMI North America Award (2007)
  • ACS Heroes in Chemistry award (2005); Applied Polymer Science award (2004)
  • Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) fellow – ACS (2000)
  • Chemistry in Service to Society Award – National Academy of Sciences (1999)
  • Aristotle Award – Semiconductor Research Corporation (1998); Technical Excellence Award (1996)
  • Alumnus of the Year – San Diego State University (1993)
  • ACS Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science (1993)
  • National Academy of Engineering (1992)
  • ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials (1991)
  • Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, FRG (1988)
  • A.D. Doolittle Award, PMSE Division of ACS (1986)

Select Publications

google scholar researchgate

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