Matthew P. Kirley, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Dr. Kirley is a Research Scientist with the Nanomaterials and Thin Films Lab at the Pratt School of Engineering's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He joined the team in August 2014 and currently works on thin film vacuum electronic devices for heat-to-electricity conversion. He received his B.S. in Physics, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Interests

  • Technology for energy capture, conversion, and use
  • Renewable/sustainable energy
  • Entrepreneurship

Awards and Honors

  • Student paper competition finalist – 2013, 2014 IVEC Conference
  • Student travel fellowship grant – 2013, 2014 USNC-URSI Conference
  • Student travel fellowship grant – 2011 IRMMW-THz Conference

Publications

B. B. Yang, M. P. Kirley, and J. H. Booske, “Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Surface Roughness Effects on Conductivity in the Terahertz Regime,” Terahertz Science and Technology, IEEE Transactions on, vol. PP, no. 99, pp. 1–8, 2014.

M. P. Kirley, B. Novakovic, N. Sule, M. J. Weber, I. Knezevic, and J. H. Booske, “Effect of sputtered lanthanum hexaboride film thickness on field emission from metallic knife edge cathodes,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 111, no. 6, p. 063717, 2012.

Prior Experience

  • Graduate Research Assistant, Terahertz Characterization and Computation Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010-2014)
  • Engineering Intern, L-3 Communications; Electron Devices Division, San Carlos, CA (2010)
  • Researcher, Central Consortium for High Power Microwaves, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009-2010)
  • Undergraduate Researcher, Advanced Materials for Energy and Electronics Group, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008-2009)
  • Undergraduate Researcher, IceCube Neutrino Telescope, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006-2008)