Kunal Mukherjee | Faculty Spotlight
Kunal Mukherjee
Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
"Our research group aims to bring together dissimilar semiconductors, each with a unique property and function, onto a common platform like silicon."
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in New Delhi and grew up mostly in Bangalore, India
Where did you study?
I did my schooling in India, then moved to Singapore for my undergraduate degree in Nanyang Technological University, and later to MIT for my PhD.
What led you to the engineering field?
Honestly, I can’t say that engineering was a carefully planned choice. Instead of fixing broken radios or tinkering with cars, I spent my summers traveling with my family and playing lots of cricket. Many of my friends were considering engineering, and I had plenty of support from my family to go down that path.
It was not uncommon in India to see people use engineering as a stepping stone to something else later in life, so it felt like a safe bet. I didn’t even know materials science was a field in high school. When I applied to study in Singapore, I saw “materials science” listed as an option and remember briefly imagining what it might be (I imagined atoms) and liking the thought of it. Still, I listed it only second after electrical engineering, but above computer science(!). A few years into electrical engineering, I became fascinated by microelectronics and semiconductors and began to see where materials really fit in. I happily chose to do my PhD in materials science and engineering.
What led you to Stanford and your current role?
Stanford is well-known in almost every field, but it is especially steeped in semiconductor heritage. I’m excited to contribute to the department’s long tradition of studying crystal growth and defects. I also enjoy teaching and sharing my love for semiconductors and crystal defects, so it was an easy decision to come here. I joined the Materials Science and Engineering department at Stanford in the summer of 2020, after a few years on the faculty at UC Santa Barbara. Before that, I spent a few formative years in industry right here in the Bay Area, and it's been great to come back. I continue to look for ways to engage with industrial R&D activities.
Please describe your current research that has you most excited and motivated, its importance, what you have achieved so far, and what you hope to accomplish in the future.
Our research group aims to bring together dissimilar semiconductors, each with a unique property and function, onto a common platform like silicon. We pursue this through monolithic integration, which involves direct crystal growth rather than bonding or gluing chips, as it offers the greatest long-term potential to scale. Much of our effort goes into engineering interfaces that accommodate differences in atomic spacing, thermal expansion, or even crystal structure while preserving functionality.
Our current focus is on semiconductors that emit, detect, and shape light in the infrared, beyond what our eyes can see. These materials are vital for data communication and fiber optics and also enable new ways of sensing and interacting with both living systems and the material world. The broader principles of monolithic integration that our group develops apply to a wide range of materials
I'm especially excited about our recent work on understanding and building defect-tolerance in III-V and IV-VI semiconductors. These have enabled reliable, monolithically integrated datacom lasers on silicon for the first time and opened new opportunities for low-cost mid-infrared optoelectronics. We are also exploring how defects can not only be tolerated but harnessed for new functionality. Most importantly, our group at Stanford graduated its first two wonderful PhD students this year, and supporting students in achieving their goals will always remain central to our mission.
What advice do you have for aspiring instructors?
Get lots of advice if you can, and learn from a variety of perspectives early on as you develop your craft, mentoring style, and your taste for research questions. Doing science is still a human pursuit, so it is useful to build a strong network. Don’t lose touch with your inner curiosity or your early experiences that made you want to do science for a living.
