Nouh, Singisetti and Xia receive UB award for sustained achievement

By Elizabeth Egan 

Nouh is the director of the Sounds and Vibrations Lab at UB, where he leads multiple projects in the areas of acoustics, adaptive structures, mechanical intelligence, and smart metamaterials. He has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has received over $3 million in research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research among other organizations.  

He noted that his sustained achievement is a direct outcome of many years of hard work and perseverance by his current and former students and postdocs.

“This award is for them,” said Nouh.

Nouh is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a 2019 recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. He has also received the 2020 UB Young Investigator Award, the 2020 ASME Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award, the 2021 Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program Research Mentor of the Year Award, and the 2022-23 President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring.

In 2015, Nouh joined UB from the University of Maryland, where he was a postdoctoral researcher after earning his PhD and master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cairo University.

Singisetti is recognized for his contributions to semiconductor research for power, radiofrequency and next generation computing applications.  

He serves as the co-director of UB’s Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies. Singisetti is also the principal investigator for a project that received a $2.8 million semiconductor research grant from the Department of Energy to improve power grids in the United States, aiming to prevent blackouts and make electricity delivery more efficient.

Since joining UB as an assistant professor in 2011, Singisetti’s other areas of research have included novel electronic devices of high-speed circuits, low power logic, next generation power electronics applications and more.

Singisetti earned his PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California Santa Barbara, his master’s degree in interdisciplinary science and engineering from Arizona State University, and his bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. 

Xia is a leader in biophotonics and photaocousic imaging. He has used these techniques for different clinical and non-clinical contexts, such as breast cancer screening, foot ulcer monitoring, and biometric identification. He has received $9.5 million in funding for his research from the National Institutes of Health, the NSF and other funding organizations.

He has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, edited a book on biophotonics, authored multiple book chapters and serves as the associate editor for Biomedical Optics Express.

Since joining UB in 2014, Xia has mentored 11 PhD students and 13 master’s students. He earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto in 2010 and his bachelor’s degree in applied physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004.

Nouh, Singisetti and Xia will be presented with the award at the UB Celebration of Excellence in the fall.