After completing her master’s, Erica decided to continue work towards a Ph.D. and ultimately chose SUNY Poly’s College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering while at UAlbany. “SUNY Poly made the decision easy because it offers students hands-on lab and cleanroom experiences,” said Erica. “These are experiences you typically only get in industry after you have graduated.”
She also took part in the unique Innovation Intensive program, a joint SUNY Poly/Albany Law School program supported by the SUNY Research Foundation. The Innovation Intensive Clinic affords students an immersive opportunity to partner with interdisciplinary teams to understand and work within the technology commercialization process in a university setting. With a heavy focus on intellectual property law and the regulation of new technologies, students are on the cutting edge of both the law and such rapidly evolving areas as nanotechnologies, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. Erica shared her experience in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNzXoaHNdLk.
Returning from the 2019 Summer Academy course, Erica was now filled with the knowledge and understanding of the potential that integrated photonics has for our future. She continued her device modeling work to include those particles of light. Nate Cady, Erica’s Ph.D. advisor and Professor at SUNY Poly, welcomed the opportunity for her to promote this in her thesis. Coupled with her keen curiosity for new scientific advancements, she began using the knowledge gained from the week-long summer course.
The summer Academy was not the first step in Erica’s photonics journey. Her AIM-funded Ph.D. research is being conducted in the same location as the AIM headquarters. She was also awarded a co-op with the engineering team, and was given an opportunity that many would only dream of. She was now working in one of the most advanced nanotechnology research organizations in the world, NY CREATES in Albany, NY. This organization supports research from industry leaders such as: IBM, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, CREE | Wolfspeed, Lam Research, and of course, AIM Photonics, as well as many other organizations.
Here the AIM Photonics team builds the most advanced Photonic Integrated Chips (PIC) supporting multiple programs. As a co-op student, Erica experiences first-hand how AIM Photonics delivers an industry-leading Multi Project Wafer (MPW) program. Now involved in AIM’s entire ecosystem, and working with engineers, program managers, customer engagement, and business teams, she gains an entirely new understanding of how customers’ initial designs are developed into the final PICs. The most exciting part was using her SUNY B.S. and M.S. education and current Ph.D. studies to help perform simulations for current and future PIC device improvements.
“Working with the AIM Photonics team was very special. I didn’t expect to learn so much, and have so much fun interacting with my colleagues,” said Erica. “One special aspect of AIM Photonics is that they focus on learning. They enroll you in design courses to increase your knowledge. They are focused on the individual worker, which I genuinely appreciate in a company.”
Unfortunately, not every young mind has the same opportunities or strong family network. Knowing this drove Erica to reopen and serve as the chapter President of the National Society of Black Engineers on the SUNY Stony Brook campus during her undergraduate years. Erica realized that the gifts she received were not simply endowed, and the challenges others might have in taking a similar path was something she was dedicated to helping those overcome. She is the founding president of the Graduate Students of Color Organization at UAlbany, the first graduate level organization devoted to addressing the needs of underrepresented students on campus. Her work in the organization has been devoted to increasing academic excellence as well as fighting against injustice and inequality for members. She served as a mentor and coach for the Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy where she assisted in facilitating science programs and mentoring middle school age girls of color.
“I will always be a mentor, I will always be a leader, and I will always try to lift as I climb, and sharing that same passion with a curious young mind will, I hope, ultimately enable them to do the same,” said Erica.
Many individuals ask what AIM Photonics has accomplished, and as mentioned previously, the technology advancements in just five years are amazing. But, stories like Erica Graham’s are even more amazing, because without the Ericas of today, there might be no future AIM or integrated photonics. Erica’s story shows why these workforce programs and institutions are so important.
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About Erica Graham: Erica received her bachelor’s master’s degrees, both in mechanical engineering, from Stony Brook University. She is a graduate student at the University at Albany where she will be completing her Ph.D. in Nanoengineering this December. Her research focuses on stress induced optical inhomogeneity in passive photonic devices and resulting performance deviations. She is the author of three technical proceeding papers on the subject. She is currently interning at AIM Photonics as a photonic design engineer at the Albany Nanotech campus.
About the Author: Frank Tolic is the Chief Marketing Officer of AIM Photonics. As AIM’s CMO, Frank is responsible for development and execution of marketing strategies that expand the AIM brand, membership, technology, and services to the photonics community. He also heads up NY CREATES’ marketing and communications efforts. Previously he was Associate Vice President for Business, wafer processing at SUNY Poly where he focused on the creation of new business partnerships and growing SUNY Poly’s core strategic technical and corporate partnerships. Prior to this assignment, he managed a portfolio of over one billion dollars in semiconductor business across the globe in support of semiconductor equipment, consumable, research, and manufacturing companies at Novati Technologies, SVTC, ATDF, and SEMATECH. Prior to his business roles, Tolic was a Sr. Device Integration Engineer at Motorola’s Advanced Products Research and Development Laboratory, in Austin, TX. He received both bachelor’s in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering from Lawrence Technological University, holds a number of patents, and has published and presented various technical and business topics throughout his 30 years in in the semiconductor industry.
About NY CREATES: NY CREATES serves as New York’s bridge to the advanced electronics industry, as a resource for public-private and academic partnerships within New York State to create and lead industry connected innovation and commercialization projects that attract investment and create growth in high technology jobs. Managing public and private investments of more than $20 billion and boasting more than 2700 industry experts and faculty, NY CREATES is a global leader in innovation and commercialization. Learn more at www.NY-CREATES.org.
About AIM Photonics: AIM Photonics is one of several Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, an industry-driven public-private partnership that focuses the nation’s premiere capabilities and expertise to capture critical global manufacturing leadership in a technology that is both essential to national security and positioned to provide a compelling return-on-investment to the U.S. economy. Learn more at www.AIMPhotonics.com.