New Faculty
Science Journal -- Spring 1996 -- Vol 13, No. 2
Jay S. Patel, professor of physics, electrical engineering,
and materials research
Jay S. Patel, professor of physics, electrical engineering,
and materials research
Jay S. Patel has broad interests ranging from fundamental to applied aspects of materials, particularly liquid crystals, polymers, and polymer liquid crystals. He is interested in understanding how organic molecules aggregate to form a collective state known as liquid crystals and to use their electro-optic properties to make devices useful in a variety of applications ranging from simple displays, to optical neural networks, to sophisticated optical cross-connect switches. He is widely recognized for his fundamental contributions to the field of liquid crystals and for his innovative use of liquid crystals in a variety of applications.
Patel received his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from the University
of New York at Stony Brook in 1982. He then joined AT&T Bell
Laboratories as a postdoctoral fellow, becoming a permanent member
of the technical staff in 1984. He joined Bell Communications Research
(Bellcore) in 1987 as a member of the technical staff, where he worked
until the summer of 1995, when he joined the Penn State faculty.