Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

ECpE Alum Receives Prestigious IEEE Award for Contributions to MRAM Computer Memory Technology

 

Contacts:
Dana Schmidt, communications specialist, (515) 294-3071, schmidtdiastate.edu

James M. Daughton, an alumnus of Iowa State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named a recipient of the 2008 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Daniel E. Noble Award. The award, sponsored by the Motorola Foundation, recognizes Daughton—along with IBM Almaden Research Center’s Stuart Parkin and Freescale Semiconductor’s (formerly the semiconductor division of Motorola) Saied Tehrani—for their separate fundamental contributions to the technology that became known as Magneto-Resistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), a form of memory that is faster, uses less energy, and is more durable than other memory technologies.

Daughton’s work in sensors and couplers helped make MRAM into a commercially viable random access memory technology with broad application in the commercial and military arenas. MRAM is an integrated-circuit access memory fabricated with nanotechnology. Using an electron spin to store data, it has the capability to combine many of the best attributes of different types of semiconductor memories.

Daughton graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1959, master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1961, and PhD in electrical engineering in 1963. He founded NVE Corporation in 1989 and served as the company’s chief executive officere from 1989 to 2001, when he was appointed chief technology officer, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. Before founding NVE, Daughton spent more than 15 years at Honeywell and 10 years at IBM. He has been awarded the Patent Invention and Outstanding Achievement Awards from IBM and is a Life Fellow of IEEE.

Daughton received the award at the May 7, 2008, IEEE International Magnetics Conference in Madrid, Spain.

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