Kamal Rudra’s Path to Semiconductor Stardom

Kamal Rudra found the topic of semiconductors pretty boring when he encountered it in high school. But that all changed when he took a college course on semiconductor optoelectronics. He credits the class’s professor with sparking his interest in the technology.

“His teaching style was engaging and incredibly effective,” Rudra says. “It made me genuinely fall in love with the subject. The combination of hands-on lab experiments and deep theoretical learning finally gave me clarity that this was the field I wanted to pursue.”

An IEEE member, Rudra is now working on a new nanosheet chip fabrication process as a research and development integration engineer at IBM Research in Albany, N.Y.

The method uses the self-aligned litho-etch litho-etch technique to create copper wiring structures for back-end-of-line (BEOL) integrated circuits at a pitch of 21 to 23 nanometers. The technique is used for gate-all-around transistors, which contain nanosheets: thin, stacked layers of silicon that are surrounded by the gate’s electrode. Nanosheets enhance control over current flow, reduce leakage, and enable higher transistor density, according to IBM.

The fabrication project is a joint initiative between IBM Research and Rapidus, a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo.

“Nanosheet transistors are paving the way for faster and more-energy-efficient processors for AI and other uses,” Rudra says. “By improving the BEOL interconnects, RC delay and electromigration can be reduced, ensuring transistor-level gains translate into system-level performance.”

For his work, he was recognized last year on the IEEE Computer Society’s Top 30 Early Career Professionals in Computing list and received US $2,500.

The Computer Society recognition “reinforces my belief that I’m moving in the right direction,” Rudra says, “and it encourages me to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in semiconductor technology and computing.”

Inspired by a physics teacher

Like many engineers, Rudra was fascinated by how things worked as a youngster. Growing up in India, he would take apart remote-controlled cars and use the motors and batteries to build something new.

No one in his family worked in science, technology, engineering, or math, he says, but science has always felt “completely natural.”

His fascination with STEM subjects deepened in high school, and his teachers fueled his passion. But it was M.R. Shenoy, a physics professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, who inspired him to pursue research in the semiconductor field.

As an undergraduate at the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, in Allahabad, India, Rudra took an online semiconductor optoelectronics certification course offered by NPTEL that was taught by Shenoy.

Motivated to gain experience in the field, from 2017 to 2019 Rudra completed several internships working on semiconductor fabrication at organizations including the Indian Institute of technology (BHU), Varanasi; the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; and the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute.

“These internships were my first real exposure to experimental research and gave me a foundation in device physics and material science,” he says.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering from MNNIT in 2019.

Working in fabrication and FinFET

After graduating he became a research assistant at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in Bengaluru.

There he developed a thin film of manganese vanadium oxide using the epitaxy process. The method grows the manganese vanadium oxide on top of the crystal substrate—which gives engineers more control over the film’s thickness, composition, and crystal structure, according to Photonics Media. Rudra used the film to develop a photodetector for infrared light.

After a year he joined semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, also in Bengaluru, as an integration and yield engineer. He continued his work at IISc on the weekends.

“Before joining, I had modest expectations—largely because of the limited semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India,” he says. “But I realized that hardware-focused work was indeed happening in the industry. That experience planted the seed of transitioning from academia to cutting-edge industrial R&D.”

“For any young professional in STEM, IEEE isn’t just a resource; it’s a launchpad.”

While at GlobalFoundries, he worked on BEOL interconnects to enhance the yield of the company’s FinFET chips, which are used in automotive technology, smartphones, and smart speakers. In conventional planar transistors, the gate sits atop a flat silicon channel, controlling the flow of current between the source and drain from only one side. As transistors shrank in size, however, they became less reliable and leaked current, wasting power. FinFET development was led by Chenming Hu, who received the 2020 IEEE Medal of Honor for the invention. FinFET’s 3D structure provides better control of the current.

In 2021 Rudra decided to continue his education and was accepted into the master’s degree program in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“I chose this school because there was a particular professor working on LED devices whose research really resonated with me,” he says. The professor, IEEE Fellow Zetian Mi, was working on III-V semiconductor optoelectronic devices. Rudra was part of Mi’s research team for the first two semesters of his graduate program, working on the fabrication and characterization of III-Nitride-based microLEDs. Rudra also completed an internship at Meta in Redmond, Wash., where he developed integration processes for waveguide-based photonic devices for AR/VR systems.

“That experience helped me understand how photonics intersects with semiconductor manufacturing,” he says, “particularly in emerging applications like next-gen displays and wearable optics.”

After earning his degree in 2023, he joined Samsung Semiconductor in Austin, Texas, as a device integration engineer. There he returned to working on FinFETs, but this time analyzing and optimizing device and front-end-of-line integration for 14-nm node technology and how different processes affect the electrical performance and yield of FinFETs.

After a year, he left to join IBM Research.

“It’s been one of the most fulfilling decisions of my career so far,” he says. “Being part of such a high-impact, globally collaborative initiative has been a fantastic experience and one that continues to push me technically and professionally.”

Since working at the company, he has filed 22 U.S. patents.

He received a slew of honors last year, including being named to Semicon West’s 20 Under 30 list, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’s 30 Under 30, and Semicon Europa’s 20 Under 30. Recently, he made the Albany Business Review 40 Under 40 list.

“These recognitions,” he says, “have been deeply motivating—not just as personal milestones but as validation of the collective work I’ve been part of, and the mentors who’ve helped shape my path.”

Making important connections at IEEE

Rudra joined IEEE in 2020 after his “Visible Light Response in Defect Engineered Wrinkle Network Nanostructured ZnO” research paper was accepted by the IEEE Electron Devices Technology and Manufacturing Conference. He continues to renew his membership, he says, because of the networking opportunities it provides, as well as technical content that helps him stay up to date on semiconductors.

In addition to the IEEE Computer Society, he is an active member of the IEEE Electron Devices (EDS), Electronics Packaging, and Photonics societies. Each “is home to a vibrant network of engineers, scientists, and innovators who are accomplished in their respective fields,” Rudra says.

In 2022 he received an Electron Devices Society master’s fellowship, which awarded him $2,000 to use toward research within the society’s fields of interest. Receiving the honor, he says, was a powerful motivator.

He is active with IEEE Young Professionals and is a member of the Electron Devices Society’s YP committee. Being a part of the community, he says, gives him access to world-class expertise and provides resources to help him make career decisions and solve technical challenges.

He is also a part of the organizing committee for this year’s IEEE EDS Summer School, a two-day lecture program for university seniors, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and young professionals.

“For any young professional in STEM, I believe IEEE isn’t just a resource; it’s a launchpad,” Rudra says. “Getting involved early helps you grow technically, professionally, and personally in a way few organizations can offer.”