Acclaimed scientist named AFRL Fellow

  • Published
  • By Pete Meltzer, Jr.
  • Materials and Manufacturing Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Dr. James G. Grote, award-winning scientist and a principal electronics research engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, has been named a 2008 Fellow of AFRL for outstanding contributions to the Air Force and the Department of Defense.

Dr. Grote has worked at AFRL for 30 years and is an acknowledged leader in several areas of research and development including laser gyros, nonlinear electro-optic sensor materials and devices, optical interconnects and optical lithography, and DNA-based materials and devices. He has worked on subsurface fractures on mirror substrates, improving position and weapons accuracy and reducing inertial navigation system drift for ring laser gyros. 

Dr. Grote developed optical interconnects for communications networks which are now part of parallel high speed transceivers for military information systems. He invented the technology for conductive polymer claddings for nonlinear optic polymer electro-optic modulators, resulting in a 10-fold improvement and a record 30 percent enhancement in the electro-optic coefficient. Dr. Grote initiated AFRL's DNA-photonics research, which has demonstrated unique, state-of-the-art improvements in materials properties and device performance using this new bio-organic-based technology.

Dr. Grote's contributions to the Air Force and the Department of Defense are complimented by his stature in the peer research community, evidenced by more than 100 publications, seven patents, and 15 edited books.

He has earned several prestigious awards including the Fritz J. Russ Bio-Engineering Award; the AFRL International Award; the Charles J. Cleary Award for Scientific Achievement; an Air Force Basic Research Award Honorable Mention; Senior Member status in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE); the highly coveted Outstanding Professional Achievement in Science Award from the Affiliate Societies Council of Dayton, Ohio; and a Fellow appointment from the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE).

Dr. Grote has directed a number of key technologies from seedling research into internationally recognized programs and his efforts have spurred the production of numerous seminal joint publications and technology transitions. He is credited with more than 100 invited plenary and keynote lectures at symposia, conferences, and university, industry and government laboratories. He has lectured worldwide and his work has been published in top-tier journals, resulting in numerous successful international scientific collaborations and breakthroughs. His work has been cited more than 200 times in top journals, and his research has been highlighted by coverage in many leading publications.

His career at AFRL began in 1978 performing research on ring laser gyros and helping AFRL achieve a 1000-fold decrease in optical scattering from mirror substrates. In 1988, after completing his master's degree in electrical engineering, Dr. Grote began doctoral studies, focusing on semiconductor-based electro-optic (EO) devices, performing research and managing multi-million dollar programs in optical interconnects and optical lithography.

Dr. Grote's in-house research effort on aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs)-based EO devices achieved the lowest switching voltage ever recorded and demonstrated the first AlGaAs reconfigurable optical interconnect. The results of this work were transitioned to industry for use in on-board aircraft processors. Optical lithography systems developed during the course of the research became industry standards.

After the completion of his doctorate degree, he was an invited visiting scholar at the Institut d'Optique, Université de Paris Sud in the summer of 1995, where he conducted research with a notable scientist on semiconductor-based, bi-stable EO switches.

Dr. Grote joined AFRL's Materials & Manufacturing Directorate in 1998, performing in-house research in nonlinear optic (NLO) polymer-based EO materials and devices, concentrating on optimizing device performance by using conductive polymer claddings. World record low device operating voltages were achieved using his conductive cladding technology, which has since been adopted by all university, government, and industry groups. In 2001, he completed a six-month sabbatical as an invited visiting scholar at three major universities, conducting NLO polymer-based research.

His current research focus involves DNA-based bio-organic materials and devices. He formulated and currently leads an international effort investigating bio materials for optical waveguides, EO modulators, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), field effect transistors (OFETs), lasers, and sensors. World record efficiencies have been achieved for fluorescent BioLEDs using a DNA-based electron blocking layer and nearly a 10-fold lower gate voltage has been achieved using a DNA-based gate dielectric for BioFETs. These applications are beginning to transition to industry.