Members

Mike Scarpulla
Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering | Electrical & Computer Engineering
Adjunct, Associate Professor | Chemical Engineering
Editor | IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Office: 2138 MEB
Phone: (801) 585-1231
Fax: (801) 581-5281
Lab: (801) 587-5679 or (801) 585-3241
Email: scarpulla@ece.utah.edu
Research Topics: Materials Science of Compound Semiconductors, Thin Film Photovoltaics, Laser Processing of Compound Semiconductors
Mike Scarpulla
Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering |
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Adjunct, Associate Professor | Chemical Engineering
Editor | IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Office: 2138 MEB
Phone: (801) 585-1231
Fax: (801) 581-5281
Lab: (801) 587-5679 or (801) 585-3241
Email: scarpulla@ece.utah.edu
PostDocs

Rujun Sun
Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering | Electrical & Computer Engineering
Adjunct, Associate Professor | Chemical Engineering
Editor | IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Grad Students

Jason Merrell
Undergrads

Mike Scarpulla
Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering | Electrical & Computer Engineering
Adjunct, Associate Professor | Chemical Engineering
Editor | IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Visiting Students

Mike Scarpulla
Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering | Electrical & Computer Engineering
Adjunct, Associate Professor | Chemical Engineering
Editor | IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Collaborators
| Phillip Dale Group | U Luxembourg | Laser Processing of Electrodeposited Cu(In,Ga)Se2 | http://wwwen.uni.lu/recherche/fstc/physics_and_materials_science_research_unit/people/phillip_dale | |
| Zang, Vardeny, Whittaker-Brooks Groups | University of Utah | Perovskites for Photovoltaics | ||
| Chris Ferekides Group | U South Florida | Laser Processing of CdTe | ||
| Kenji Yoshino Group | U Miyazaki | Bulk crystals of CZTSSe | ||
| Andrei Postnikov | Université de Lorraine | Ab-initio vibrational free energy of point defect formation | ||
| Glenn Teeter Group | NREL | Characterization of combinatorial CZTS | ||
| Mike Toney Group | SSRL | Xray characterization of thin film PV materials | ||
| Kirstin Alberi Group | NREL | |||
| Ingrid Repins Group | NREL | Defect Spectroscopies on CZTSe | ||
| Naba Paudel | U Toledo | Laser Processing of CdTe | ||
| Kelvin Lynn | WSU | Crystal Growth, fun ideas | ||
| Matt McCluskey | WSU | Defect characterization | ||
| Elif Ertekin | UIUC | Defect Calculations | ||
| John McCloy | WSU | Ga2O3 Crystal Growth | ||
| Akira Nagaoka | U Miyazaki | CdTe growth and doping using THM | ||
| Ed Seebauer | UIUC | Defect injection and diffusion | ||
| Joel Varley | LLNL | Defect Theory | ||
| Nasim Alem | Penn State U | Electron Microscopy | ||
| Azaree Linteurer | Penn State U | Irradiation and damage response of semiconductors | ||
| Emily Mace | PNNL | Irradiation and damage response of semiconductors | ||
| Petra Specht | LBNL | Electron Microscopy of semiconductors | ||
| Danny Feezel | UNM | MOCVD Growth and characterization of GaN | ||
| Cynthia Furse | U Utah | SSTDR monitoring of PV installations | ||
| Joel Harley | U Florida | SSTDR monitoring of PV installations | ||
| Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez | U Utah | Defects and characterization of Ga2O3 | ||
| Sriram Krishnamoorthy | U Utah | Growth and fabrication of Ga2O3 epilayers and devices | ||
| Chris Deline | NREL | SSTDR monitoring of PV installations | ||
| Amit Munshi, Walajabad Sampath | CSU | Growth and fabrication of CdTe based solar cells | ||
| Alumni | ||||
| Akira Nagaoka | ![]() |
Visiting Postdoc (2015-2017). JSPS Postdoc Fellowship | Bulk crystals of CZTSSe & CdTe | Professor, University of Miyazaki, Japan https://srhumdb.miyazaki-u.ac.jp/html/100002083_en.html |
| Mehmet (Eray) Erkan | ![]() |
Postdoc (2013-) | ||
| Vipul Kheraj | ![]() |
Assistant Professor, SVNIT, Surat, India | 2013-2014. Defects in CZTS, surface photovoltage spectroscopy, aging of perovskites. | Faculty Page |
| Brian Simonds | Postdoc (2012-2014) | Laser processing of CdTe | NIST Boulder | |
| Volodymyr Kosyak | ![]() |
Postdoc (2011-2013) | Defects in CZTSSe | Sumy State University, Ukraine |
| Win Maw Hlaing Oo | ![]() |
Postdoc (2009-2011) | Defects in CZTS | |
| Junyi Zhu | ![]() |
Postdoc (2012-2013) | Ab-initio defects in CZTS | City University of Hong Kong |
| James Nagel | ![]() |
PhD ECE (2010-2012) | Light Trapping in Thin Si, scattering by dielectric nanoparticles, modes in lossy waveguides | Terahertz Devices |
| Ashish Bhatia | ![]() |
PhD MSE (2008-2013) | Laser processing of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) | Intel |
| Elizabeth (Liz) Lund | ![]() |
PhD ChemE (2010-2014) | Defects in CZTSSe | |
| Sudhajit Misra | ![]() |
PhD ECE (2013-2019) | Optoelectronic charcterization of thin film semiconduuctors, laser processing of CdTe, CuInSe Solar cells |
Postdoc Oak Ridge National Lab |
| Dennis Pruzan | ![]() |
PhD MSE (2013-2018) | Compositional Fluctuations in thin film solar cells | Lead Scientist, DPS Skis |
| Peter Peroncik | ![]() |
PhD Phys (2014-2015) | Properties of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskites | |
| Anna Caruso | ![]() |
MS ECE (2013-) | Defect spectroscopies on CZTSSe | |
| Carina Hahn | ![]() |
BS/MS MSE (2016) | CZTSSe Devices, CdTe | |
| Makarand (Mak) Karmarkar | ![]() |
MSE (2011-2014) | CZTSSe | |
| Laura Treider | ![]() |
MS ECE (2014-2017) | III-V Band Offsets | |
| Alex Gibbs | ![]() |
BS Phys, MS MSE (2012-2016) | CZTSSe devices | |
| Kholoud Al-Ajmi | ![]() |
MS ECE (2015-2018) | Capacitance Characterization of thin film solar cells | |
| Omar Salah | ![]() |
BS MSE (2015) | CZTSSe Devices | |
| Tom Wilenski | ![]() |
BS ECE (2015) MS ECE (2018) |
DLTS Instrumentation | |
| Yukee Ooi | ![]() |
Postdoc | IV, CV, DLTS, PL of GaN and Ga2O3 | |
| Sophia Gardner | ![]() |
MSE BS/MS 2020 | EL, IV, CV measurements on GaN diodes |
Answers to General Inquiries
Visiting Scholars
Dr. Scarpulla welcomes colleagues wishing to collaborate and spend time at the University of Utah, but does not have funding to support such visits. Potential visitng scholars having their own funding (including project funding) should contact Dr. Scarpulla.
POSTDOCS
There are no funded postdoc positions open at this time. If this changes, I will post a news item on the homepage and announce the position here. However, exceptional candidates who already have or who wish to apply for externally funded postdoctoral fellowships (e.g. EERE, NSF, DOE, von Humboldt, BASE, etc.) should contact Prof. Scarpulla to discuss project ideas.
PhD Students
FEB 2021- I AM CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR 1-2 EXCEPTIONAL PHD STUDENTS WITH ECE, MSE, OR PHYSICS BACKGROUNDS TO WORK ON MANIPULATING AND CHARACTERIZING DEFECTS IN GA2O3 FOR USE IN HIGH VOLTAGE, HIGH-POWER, HIGH-EFFICIENCY ELECTRONICS.
Opportunities arise throughout the year based on external funding, so interested candidates should apply to the MSE or ECE departments every year to ensure eligibility. Outstanding candidates from US undergraduate institutions may be eligible for the College of Engineering Fellowships – please contact Dr. Scarpulla if you fall into this category. The first prerequisite for this fellowship is being accepted to a U of U PhD program in the College of Engineering so candidates should apply as soon as possible. All candidates are encouraged to seek external graduate fellowships (good for the candidate’s career as well as allowing more students to work on each project which will translate into more progress); here is an excellent (but not necessarily exhaustive) list of extramural graduate fellowships primarily aimed at US students. ASEE SMART Fellowships AT&T Fellowships & Internships IBM PhD Fellowships National Physical Science Consortium Fellowships ARCS Foundation Similar fellowships may be available from other countries for international students and candidates are encouraged to seek these out. Dr. Scarpulla is always interested in exceptional PhD candidates who are self-directed learners, hard workers, and who have 1) GPA’s approximately A- or above and 2) prior research experience related to electronic materials and devices.
The College of Engineering Fellowship Office maintains a superb listing of local and outside scholarships and fellowships here.
MS Students
There are no funded positions for MS students at this time. Most of the time, Dr. Scarpulla will only consider MS candidates in two circumstances: 1) they require no funding or have their own funding, 2) they are candidates in the BS/MS programs at the University of Utah.
The College of Engineering Fellowship Office maintains a superb listing of local and outside scholarships and fellowships here.
Undergraduate Students
Interested students at the U of Utah should contact Prof. Scarpulla with CV and transcript. Prof. Scarpulla advises multiple senior projects and undergraduate lab assistants each year.
The College of Engineering Fellowship Office maintains a superb listing of local and outside scholarships and fellowships here.
International Internships
Please contact Prof. Scarpulla only if a) you require no funding, b) you can stay for a period of at least 1 year. Otherwise: there is no funding for such visits and the time is too short to accomplish useful learning and progress.
Domestic Interns
Outstanding college and even some high school students may be good fits for lab interns. Contact Dr. Scarpulla.













