Clark Nguyen

Research Areas

Research Centers

Teaching Schedule

Fall 2025

Biography

Clark T.-C. Nguyen received the B. S., M. S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988, 1991, and 1994, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. In 1995, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science up until mid-2006. In 2006, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is now a Professor and a co-Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. His research interests focus on micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and include integrated micromechanical signal processors and sensors, merged circuit/micromechanical technologies, RF communication architectures, and integrated circuit design and technology. From 1995 to 1997, he was a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s New Millennium Integrated Product Development Team on Communications, which roadmapped future communications technologies for NASA use into the turn of the century. In 2001, Prof. Nguyen founded Discera, Inc., the first company to commercialize MEMS-based timing products using the very vibrating micromechanical resonators pioneered by his research. He served as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Discera until mid-2002, at which point he joined the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on an IPA, where he served for 3.5 years as the Program Manager of the MEMS, Micro Power Generation (MPG), Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC), MEMS Exchange (MX), Harsh Environment Robust Micromechanical Technology (HERMIT), Micro Gas Analyzers (MGA), Radio Isotope Micropower Sources (RIMS), RF MEMS Improvement (RFMIP), Navigation-Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG), and Micro Cryogenic Coolers (MCC) programs, in the Microsystems Technology Office of DARPA.

Prof. Nguyen received the 1938E Award for Research and Teaching Excellence from the University of Michigan in 1998, a Univ. of Michigan EECS Departmental Achievement Award in 1999, the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2000, the University of Michigan’s 2001 Henry Russel Award, a UC Berkeley EECS Department EE Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013. He received the 2006 Cady Award from the IEEE UFFC society and the 2017 IEEE Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems Award. Among his publication accolades are the 2007 IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Best Paper Award, the 2005 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Jack Raper Award for Outstanding Technology Directions, the Best Invited Paper Award at the 2004 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, the 2004 DARPA Tech Best Technical Presentation Award, and together with his students, ten Best Student Paper Awards at major conferences. To date, he has organized and chaired a total of 37 IEEE and DARPA workshops, and was the Technical Program Chair and General Chair of the 2010 and 2011 IEEE Int. Frequency Control Symposiums; as well as a Co-General Chair of the 2017 IEEE Int. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Conference. Prof. Nguyen is a Fellow of the IEEE and served as President of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (UFFC) Society from 2016-2017. He is presently the Senior Past-President of the society. In 2018, he founded and began a term as President of the IEEE MEMS Technical Community, which intends to transition to an IEEE Council over the next few years

Education

  • 1994, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley
  • 1991, M.S., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley
  • 1989, B.S., Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, Univ. of California at Berkeley

Selected Publications

Awards, Memberships and Fellowships