March 13, 2025
2025 J.A. Woollam Company Scholarship awarded to Sean Griffin, Cornell University
Congratulations to Sean Griffin – recipient of a 2025 J.A. Woollam Company Scholarship from the SVC Foundation. Sean is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University. Sean recently joined Professor Xing and Professor Jena’s semiconductor research group, where he studies novel wide band gap semiconductor materials and devices grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). Sean says, “My goal is to leverage vacuum coating technologies to push the boundaries of what is possible in photonics. By designing and fabricating materials with tailored optical and electronic properties, I aim to contribute to developing more efficient, compact, and versatile devices.”
Sean was fortunate to do an internship at Raytheon. He says, “At Raytheon, I investigated next-generation ceramics for aerospace applications, enhancing optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. It is truly inspiring to see the care and ingenuity put into designing new materials and to play a role in pushing the envelope of what is possible.”
Sean writes, “Thank you for awarding me the J.A. Woollam Company Scholarship. My mission is to contribute to scientific advancement and to be a lifelong learner. This generous support allows me to further myself toward my academic and professional goals. In the future, I wish to be an innovator in the world of semiconductors, using what I have learned about light-matter interactions to build new and better devices. Thank you for your generosity and for supporting students like me.”
