Prof. Tomás Palacios
Tomás Palacios is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), a role he assumed on February 4, 2026. He is affiliated with MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Microsystems Technology Laboratory (MTL). He studied Electronics at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and received his MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
In 1997, Palacios joined the Institute for Systems Based on Optoelectronics and Microtechnology (ISOM) in Spain, where he conducted research on semiconductor fabrication technology, ultraviolet photodetectors, surface acoustic wave filters, and high-electron-mobility transistors. In the summer of 2000, he worked in the Microelectronics Group at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, collaborating on the design of silicon transistors for radiation-hard and low-noise electronics. In 2002, he joined Professor Umesh Mishra’s group at UCSB, where he developed novel nitride-based transistors for millimeter-wave applications and helped establish the state of the art in high-frequency and high-power devices.
Palacios joined the MIT faculty in 2006. His research focuses on the design, processing, and characterization of advanced electronic devices based on wide-bandgap semiconductors for power amplification and digital applications beyond 100 GHz. His interests also include the development of new concepts for biosensors and bioactuators, as well as the use of nitride semiconductors for power generation and conversion.
In addition to work on GaN and other wide-bandgap semiconductors, the Palacios group conducts research on electronics based on two-dimensional materials such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). This work lies at the intersection of emerging material systems with extreme properties, the maturity of silicon electronics, and the evolving demands of a society shaped by more than 50 years of Moore’s law. The group bridges materials science, physics, and engineering to help advance the next generation of micro- and nanosystems.
The group’s work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the Young Scientist Award of the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors, the Young Researcher Award at the 6th International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors, the Best Student Paper Award at the 36th Device Research Conference, the Lancaster Dissertation Award, and the European Prize Salva i Campillo for the Most Promising European Newcomer to Engineering. Collectively, the group has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific papers in international journals and conferences, five book chapters, and numerous invited talks and patents.
Outside of his academic and research activities, Palacios enjoys starting companies, reading, listening to classical music, hiking, and attending plays and concerts.