Robert Wolkow
Robert Wolkow is a Canadian physicist known for his work in nanotechnology, nanoelectronics, and atom-scale fabrication. He is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta, where he holds the iCORE Chair in Nanoscale Information and Communications Technology and the AITF Industrial Chair in Atom Scale Fabrication. He is also the Principal Research Officer and Nanoelectronics Program Coordinator at the National Research Council (NRC) Nanotechnology centre in Edmonton, and the Chief Technical Officer of Quantum Silicon Inc. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Wolkow completed his Bachelor of Science in Honours Applied Chemistry at the University of Waterloo in 1982. He earned his PhD in Chemistry from theUniversity of Torontoin 1987. After this, he carried out postdoctoral research at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in New York. In 1988, he joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey as a Member of Technical Staff, where he worked until 1994.
In 1994, Wolkow returned to Canada to join the National Research Council as a Senior Research Officer at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences in Ottawa. He became a Principal Research Officer in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, he led the Molecular Interfaces Program at NRC-SIMS and also held adjunct professorships at the University of Ottawa andMcGill University. In 2003, he moved to Edmonton, where he became a Professor at the University of Alberta and took on leadership roles at the National Institute for Nanotechnology. He later became Scientific Director of the Hitachi Electron Microscopy Product Development Centre in 2009.
His research focuses on atom-scale fabrication, scanning tunnelling microscopy, surface chemical physics, ultra-low-power electronic computation, single-atom devices, and quantum computing. He is recognised as a pioneer in using STM to study and control atoms and molecules on silicon surfaces. His work aims to develop new electronic devices that could replace conventional transistors and significantly reduce energy use.
Wolkow has played a key role in translating fundamental research into commercial technologies through spin-off companies, including Quantum Silicon Inc. He has received several awards, including ASTech Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Technology and multiple innovation and patent awards. His work has contributed to positioning Alberta as an important centre for nanotechnology research and development.
