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UT names Deep Jariwala quantum devices governor’s chair
`The quantum materials expert will join the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in January 2027.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 08, Apr 2026
- 13:42 EDT
- 22
Deep Jariwala / Penn Engineering
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, named Indian American researcher Deep Jariwala as the new UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory (UT-ORNL) Governor’s Chair for Quantum Devices.
Jariwala will hold a joint appointment in UT’s Tickle College of Engineering and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and is set to officially join in January 2027.
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The appointment comes through the governor’s chair program, which is designed to align the strengths of UT and ORNL to advance research, talent development, and recruitment of high-profile scholars.
“Recruiting Governor’s Chairs and other preeminent faculty is central to our efforts to elevate the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,” UT chancellor Donde Plowman said. “This appointment strengthens our ability to grow in emerging areas like quantum science and engineering while leveraging our partnership with ORNL to create opportunities for students and faculty that no other university can offer.”
Jariwala joins UT after nine years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he most recently served as associate professor and Peter and Susanne Armstrong Distinguished Scholar in the departments of Electrical and Systems Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering.
His research focuses on novel materials that could help power future microchips used in computing, sensing, and artificial intelligence applications.
According to UT, Jariwala’s work is aimed in part at improving the efficiency of AI hardware, an area of growing importance as demand for energy-intensive computing systems increases. His research explores both brain-inspired chip architectures and the use of quantum materials in computing.
“Both approaches are rooted in novel materials and the physical phenomena in those materials,” Jariwala said.
UT said his arrival will expand the university’s capabilities across the chip development pipeline, from materials research and chip design to fabrication and real-world applications.
Jariwala is also a co-founder of Agni Semiconductor, a startup company focused on semiconductor innovation, and said he hopes to further translate research into commercial technologies after joining UT.
“Completing the arc of translation results in something that can be made at scale and commercialized,” he said. “I hope to spin out more new companies from UT.”
At UT, Jariwala will establish a new research laboratory for material deposition and characterization at the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing. The lab will be based at UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm, which serves as a collaborative hub for UT, ORNL, and industry partners.
“I envision a constant exchange of people and information between UT and ORNL,” Jariwala said. “We will leverage the core strengths and facilities of both institutions to open new directions in our research.”
University officials said Jariwala is also expected to work closely with undergraduate and graduate students, with a focus on research training and workforce development.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jariwala to UT,” said Deb Crawford, UT’s vice chancellor for research, innovation, and economic development. “His work will build on our existing expertise in quantum materials and will help us expand our leadership in artificial intelligence. The partnership with ORNL multiplies the impact of both institutions for the state of Tennessee and for the country.”
Jariwala has received honors from organizations including the American Physical Society, IEEE, and Optica. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and currently serves as an associate editor for the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.
Before joining the University of Pennsylvania, Jariwala spent two years at the California Institute of Technology as a Resnick Prize Postdoctoral Fellow. He earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University.
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