Hakan Türeci (left) and Minjie Chen (right). Photos by David Kelly Crow
Power electronics expert Minjie Chen has been promoted to the rank of associate professor, and quantum technology expert Hakan Türeci has been promoted the rank of professor, both effective July 1.
Minjie Chen
Chen, promoted to associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, works on developing smaller, smarter and more energy-efficient power electronics. Those components help convert and control electrical power in robots, electric vehicles, information systems and the grid edge — the region where electricity from the grid transitions to the end user.
In his lab, Chen works on power electronic systems capable of supporting the variable electricity load generated by renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which can threaten the power grid’s overall stability and reliability. Researchers in his group are even developing ways to enable those systems to automatically cluster into smaller microgrids and redirect electricity flows in response to external hazards such as extreme weather.
Chen’s past honors include the Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society, the Lawrence Keyes, Jr. / Emerson Electric Co. Junior Faculty Award from Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, an NSF CAREER Award, the Dimitris N. Chorafas Ph.D. thesis award, and six IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics Prize Paper Awards.
Chen joined the Princeton faculty in 2017. He holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a B.S. in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University.
Hakan Türeci
Türeci, promoted to professor of electrical and computer engineering, investigates the physics-imposed limits of computing, simulation and sensing using techniques from quantum optics, quantum information science, condensed matter physics and photonics.
His work has helped establish theoretical foundations for a wide range of advanced technologies. For example, his group developed a machine learning algorithm for quantum computers that overcomes key fundamental limitations, found ways to make brain-inspired quantum sensors more resilient to noise from their surroundings, and developed powerful computational tools for modeling superconducting quantum systems.
Türeci’s past honors include the NSF CAREER Award, the DARPA Young Faculty Award and the Swiss National Science Foundation Career Award. In 2022, he earned an outstanding teaching accommodation after he redesigned a quantum optics course by enabling students to conduct experiments remotely using real quantum computing hardware over the cloud in collaboration with IBM.
Türeci joined the Princeton faculty in 2010 from ETH Zurich, where he was an assistant professor of physics. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, as well as an M.S. and B.S. in physics from Bilkent University in Turkey. He is associated faculty in the Princeton Materials Institute and is affiliated with the Princeton Quantum Initiative.
