Posted on May 28, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Yogesh K. Vohra, Ph.D., physics professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Physics of the United Kingdom in the field of condensed matter and materials physics.
Election to Fellow status indicates a high level of achievement in physics and an outstanding contribution to the profession. Achievements can include technological innovation, industrial collaboration, original research, receiving patents or receiving major research grants. About 200 Fellows are elected each year.
Vohra has gained national and international recognition for his work with synthetic diamonds and the application of synthetic diamond technology in high-pressure research. He patented a process in May 1997 to grow synthetic diamonds by combining methane and hydrogen gases with high-powered microwaves and depositing diamond crystals on a seed crystal at 1,200 degrees Celsius.
Most recently, in February 2001, Vohra and UAB researcher Shane Aaron Catledge were issued a patent for a process they developed that uses a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method to modify the chemistry of a plasma process while in the growth chamber to produce the smooth film called nanostructured diamond films that is deposited on metals.
“I am honored to have been selected as a Fellow of the institute,” Vohra said. “And I am pleased that my peers have bestowed upon me this great distinction. I hope my continued work with synthetic diamond crystals, diamond coatings and high pressure materials research will lead to further research advances in not only physics, but also in other areas like biomedical implants and novel super-hard materials.”
“Dr. Vohra’s work speaks for itself,” said James McClintock, dean of the UAB School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “His contribution to UAB, as well as his commitment to his students and to the advancement of physics, makes him one of the top physicists in his field. He is very deserving of this honor.”
Vohra earned his Bachelor of Science in physics in 1972 and a Master of Science in physics in 1974 from the University of Delhi, India. He earned his Ph.D. in physics in from the University of Bombay, India in 1980. Vohra spent eight years as a physics professor at Cornell University before joining the UAB faculty 1992.
In addition to his duties as a physics professor, Vohra is an adjunct professor in the materials and mechanical engineering department in the UAB School of Engineering. He also serves as the program director of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Physics, as director of the physics graduate program and as campus director for the Alabama Space Grant Consortium. Vohra has had more than 125 publications and articles in physics and materials science journals and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
The Institute of Physics is a leading international professional body and learned society with over 30,000 members, which promotes the advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of and education in the science of physics, pure and applied. It has a worldwide membership and is a major international player in scientific publishing and electronic dissemination of physics; setting professional standards for physicists and awarding professional qualifications; and promoting physics through scientific conferences, education and science policy advice.