Dr. Cressler grew up in Georgia, and received the B.S. degree in physics from Georgia Tech in 1984. From 1984 until 1992 he was on the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY, working on high-speed Silicon and Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) microelectronic devices and technology. While continuing his full-time research position at IBM, he went back to pursue his graduate studies at Columbia University in 1985, receiving his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in applied physics in 1987 and 1990, respectively.
In 1992 Dr. Cressler left IBM Research to pursue his dream of becoming a professor, and joined the faculty at Auburn University, where he served until 2002, when he left to join Georgia Tech. He is presently a Regents Professor and the Schlumberger Chair in Electronics at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Cressler is interested in the understanding, development, and application of new types of silicon-based bandgap-engineered microelectronic devices and circuits for high-speed electronics in emerging 21st century communications systems. He and his team have published over 700 technical papers in this field, and he has written five non-fiction books (two for general audiences). He has recently become enamored with writing historical fiction. His novels are interfaith love stories set in medieval Muslim Spain, including: Emeralds of the Alhambra, Shadows in the Shining City, and Fortune’s Lament (with a fourth in the works). His hobbies include wine collecting, cooking, gardening, fly fishing, mushroom foraging, and hiking.
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Cressler’s research focuses on advanced semiconductor electronic and photonic materials and devices, particularly silicon-germanium (SiGe). His work explores device design, fabrication, and characterization for high-frequency applications. His research integrates materials science, physics, and microelectronics to address challenges in reliability, efficiency, and integration. He has a special focus on using SiGe devices and circuits in extreme environments. Graduate and undergraduate student involvement is integral to his research activities.
Cressler’s teaching is centered on semiconductor device physics and technology at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He emphasizes microelectronics and nanotechnology, and the interdisciplinary aspects of devices and circuits. His instruction integrates contemporary developments in electronic and photonic silicon-germanium (SiGe) devices and circuits, and their applications, fostering analytical and practical skills among students. Active student engagement in research complements his teaching approach.
- IEEE Fellow (2001)
- C. Holmes MacDonald National Outstanding Teacher Award (Eta Kappa Nu, 1996)
- IEEE Third Millennium Medal (2000)
- Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (2012-present)
- Technical Program Chair, IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (1998)
- Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (1994)
- IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award (2011)
- CR Snyder, CR Ellis, YA Mensah, JA Caezza, BL Ringel, CT Coen, ..., A 163–214-GHz SiGe Cascode Bootstrapped Gilbert Cell Push–Push Hybrid Frequency Quadrupler, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters, 2025
- JH Shin, JW Teng, BL Ringel, ZR Brumbach, DG Sam, JP Heimerl, ..., System-Level SEU Hardening of Wireless Receivers through Modulation Scheme Selection, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2025
- ZR Brumbach, DL West, DH Bailie, DG Sam, JH Shin, SA Dasari, ..., SEE and TID Resilient Vanadium Dioxide Phase-Change Material Millimeter-Wave Switches, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2025
- M Hosseinzadeh, JW Teng, YA Mensah, BL Ringel, DG Sam, ..., System-Level Characterization of Single-Event Effects in Integrated Electronic-Photonic Optical Links for Space-based Communications, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2025
- DG Sam, JW Teng, JP Heimerl, D Nergui, YA Mensah, ZR Brumbach, ..., Impact of Total-Ionizing Dose on Injection-Locked Voltage-Controlled Oscillators, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 73(1), 138–146, 2025