Dr. Hunt grew up in the literary haven of Columbus, Mississippi, the boyhood home of Tennessee Williams, and received his B.S.E.E. from the University of Alabama in 1976. He worked for Harris Corporation for two years in the areas of acousto-optics and surface acoustic wave (SAW). He then entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned his S.M.E.E. in 1980 and conducted research in the field of auditory physiology. After four years with Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc. he entered the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana where he received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1987. His research there was on acoustic charge transport (ACT) devices and the SAW properties of Gallium Arsenide.
Dr. Hunt joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987 as one of the original members of the Pettit Microsystems Research Center. There he founded the Microelectronic Acoustics Group which focuses on the development of ultrasonic devices that can be integrated with Microsystems. Among these have been, ACT devices, micromachined polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF)-based transducers for intravascular ultrasound, acousto-optic devices for tunable lasers as well as SAW and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices for wireless and chemical sensor applications.
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 1987
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Alabama, 1976
Hunt’s research centers on embedded systems, hardware design, and system-level integration. He investigates computer architecture, programmable logic devices, and the interaction between hardware and software components to improve system performance and reliability. His work emphasizes developing efficient, scalable, and adaptable systems, with a focus on both theoretical foundations and practical implementations within electrical and computer engineering.
Hunt’s teaching interests include undergraduate and graduate courses in computer engineering, embedded systems, and hardware-software integration. He focuses on foundational topics such as digital design, computer architecture, and system-level design, emphasizing practical applications and industry-relevant skills. His teaching approach actively engages students in problem-solving and design methodologies to prepare them for careers in computer and electrical engineering.
- Rhodes Scholar Finalist
- National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator
- DuPont Young Faculty Award
- University of Alabama Distinguished Engineering Fellow, 1994
- Past Member of Administrative Committee of IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society
- Newsletter Editor, IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society
- S Iyer, JP Montmayeur, WD Hunt, CD Dotson, The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) Modulates the Functional Output of Human Taste Bud Cells, bioRxiv, 2026.
- JP Salvestrini, A Kassem, R Gujrati, D Bourrier, C Ayela, F Mathieu, ..., III-Nitride MEMS Drum Resonators on Flexible Metal Substrates, 2025.
- W Hunt, KS Davis, M LaPlaca, C Ward, JA Herrmann, Systems and methods for microwave jamming of molecular recognition, US Patent 12,247,931, 2025.
- WD Hunt, NA McCarty, CS Dotson, A Eckford, Taste Bud Cell Emulator Chip with Electrochemical Sensing, Cellular, and Neurological Processing, US Patent App. 19/170,975, 2025.
- A Kassem, R Gujrati, D Bourrier, C Ayela, F Mathieu, I Dufour, L Nicu, ..., III-Nitride MEMS drum resonators on flexible metal substrates, Microsystems & Nanoengineering 11(1), 197, 2025.