Sujatha Sampath

Dr. Sujatha Sampath is a condensed matter physicist with 20 years of R&D experience in nanoscale physics and nanotechnology, spanning US national laboratories, academia, and industry. Her work has been at the intersection of fundamental research and development of next generation technology. In her current position as a technologist and senior engineer in the Process Engineering Division at Micron Technology, Utah, she plays a lead role in bringing to fruition new technology – from proof of concept to manufacturing at scale – in Micron’s only alpha technology Fab. She specializes in development and optimization of CMOS processes, driving billions of transistors that impact performance, speed and function of Micron’s cutting-edge semi-conductor memory chips, used in wide range of products from smart phones, healthcare, automotive, energy sector and AI applications.

Prior to joining Micron, Dr. Sampath has worked with US National Laboratories and led multi-institutional research programs with national and international teams studying self organization of atoms and how atomic and molecular structure impact materials’ function. Impact of her research has been in applications areas like alternate energy, nature/bioinspired smart materials, semiconductors, nano-drug delivery systems, technological glasses, and composites. Her research findings have appeared in leading scientific journals including Nature and featured on PBS-NOVA. She’s given invited talks both for scientific and non-expert public audience, including a TED talk. She is a key Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion advocate within Micron as demonstrated in her co-founding Micron’s first Employee Resource Group (ERG) focused on fostering diversity and inclusion for Micron’s multi-culture workforce. She has conducted Inclusion Allyship training and workshops for Micron’s US facilities.

Dr. Sampath has a passion for sharing knowledge on scientific research and speaks at schools and universities to inspire students – particularly young women – to consider STEM careers. She was selected to be a member of the United States Delegation team to represent USA in a global summit for Women in physics, and was keynote speaker on STEM Career day for Utah’s high school students, at the Thanksgiving-Point Institute, Utah.

At Micron, she was nominated to a team, which she became the co-lead of, in a joint initiative between Global Semiconductor Alliance, UCLA and Micron for women engineering students. She was an invited speaker to address Micron’s USA interns on National Intern Day and in Micron’s team on an initiative led by Microsoft called Digigirlz. Dr. Sampath has a Ph.D. in Physics from the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research in India. She started her career in USA at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago as a post-doctoral fellow and went on hold subsequent R&D roles in the institution. She has business certification from Harvard business school. Dr. Sampath is a two-time recipient of the Mildred Blewett award from the American Physical Society, given to one or two women physicists in North America, per year.

Dr. Sampath is interested in fundamental phenomena in the smallest scales in the universe, the realm of atoms and molecules, the “nano-world”. She strongly believes in the synergy of fundamental research with technology development for positive societal impact. She loves sharing the results of her scientific research and those of her peers, teaching and influencing the public at large. As such, she has interwoven community engagement within her work. Outside of work, she volunteers for a non-profit organization called the Association for India’s Development and is member of data and AI meet ups in the greater Salt Lake City area. Dr. Sampath is an artist and maintains a blog. She loves hiking, is an avid foodie, and an active member of a performing Indian classical music group.