President Barack Obama awards Dr. Colin D. Joye, engineer, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) — the highest honor bestowed by the federal government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Joye receives the award in recognition for the development of novel microfabrication techniques that revolutionize the construction of vacuum electronic power amplifiers; his demonstration of a record-breaking 220 gigahertz, 60 Watt radio-wave amplifier, enabling millimeter-wave imaging and high data rate communications; and for promoting advanced education, mentoring children in the sciences and outreach to orphans around the world.
Joining NRL in 2008, as a Karle Fellow working in the former Vacuum Electronics Branch, Joye’s current research interests include high-power, wide bandwidth vacuum electronic amplifier sources at the millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, and novel microfabrication techniques for the same. In 2014, Joye was awarded the Technology Transfer Award for his work, and in 2013, he was presented with the Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award for his contributions to the Navy.
Joye holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Villanova University, Villanova, Pa., 2002, and a master’s and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass., 2004 and 2008 respectively. After completing the Ph.D. program, Joye became a visiting scientist for MIT and worked at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) in the Waves and Beams Division.
The Presidential Early Career Awards were first introduced by President Clinton in 1996 and continue to be coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) within the Executive Office of the President. The awards are presented each year to highlight the key role the administration places in encouraging and accelerating American innovation to grow our economy and tackle our greatest challenges. Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.