The Cornell Department of Materials Science and Engineering is proud to honor Dr. Glen Wilk ’90 with the 2026 MSE Distinguished Career Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding career as a leader in industry.

Dr. Wilk is a Vice President of Technology at ASM, where he currently specializes in developing novel Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) materials and processes for advanced nodes in the semiconductor industry. Prior to his current role, he ran the ALD business unit for 15 years and Epitaxy business unit for 6 years at ASM, where he was responsible for leading the development of the Pulsar, Synergis, and Intrepid products.

The award will be presented on Friday, May 8, at the annual Gala Awards Dinner and poster session, an event that will also recognize our outstanding undergraduates, Master’s, and Ph.D. students for excellence in teaching and research. Dr. Wilk will give the keynote address.

We spoke with Dr. Wilk via email about his experience in Cornell Duffield Engineering, his perspective on the future of engineering, and his advice for our current students.

What made you want to major in materials science and engineering when you were a student?

Growing up, I was always curious about why various materials display such widely different properties and behavior under the same conditions. For example, why is wood a solid, water is a liquid, and oxygen is a gas, all under the same temperature and pressure? And why do metals conduct electricity, but glass and rubber do not?

At that time, I didn’t know there was field of study focused on understanding materials properties. But after taking Introduction to Materials Science as a freshman, I realized that this was my chance to dive in headfirst, and I was hooked!

What are the values and skills that students acquire in Duffield Engineering that prepare them for leadership roles in tech industries?

As an engineering student, I thought the course curriculum required us to take too many courses in adjacent fields (e.g. electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering). I now feel very fortunate to have such a broad awareness of the fundamental aspects of multiple engineering disciplines. I gained an appreciation (and patience!) for embracing difficult problems, which has often helped me throughout my career advancing technology.

Who was the mentor who most impacted your academic career at Cornell?

Mike Thompson was an unparalleled mentor to me, and he greatly impacted my career at Cornell. As a freshman, he saw how excited and eager I was to get involved and invited me to join his group for undergraduate research. Throughout the next 3 years, he consistently gave me guidance, shared his knowledge, and showed me the ropes in materials science research.

Why should students who are interested in technology industries (or specifically semiconductor manufacturing) pursue a degree in materials science and engineering?

A degree in materials science and engineering provides a versatile and solid foundation for anyone who is interested to work in a technical industry. There are many mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineers in industry, but there are very few well-trained materials scientists.
This is particularly true in semiconductor manufacturing, where developing advanced materials is essential to enable continued device performance improvement and scaling. I have learned a lot of transistor device electronics on the job, but I could not have gained a fundamental understanding of materials science on the job. I could only have gained that knowledge base as a student.

With a strong understanding of materials, you will be well-equipped to make significant contributions toward developing solutions to important and challenging problems in industry.

Is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or thank regarding the Materials Science and Engineering Distinguished Career Achievement Award?

First, I would like to give my deepest thanks and appreciation to Mike Thompson. His selflessness, energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the field, and to me as a young student, were infectious and instilled in me a passion for materials science. Mike Thompson set me on my career path, for which I am immensely grateful.

I also want to thank the late Jim Mayer; I had the great fortune of being able to learn an enormous amount from him while working on my senior thesis, as well as from being a TA in his class on electronic materials. When I asked him to write recommendation letters for my grad school applications, he told me to come by his office that night. When I stopped by his office at about 9:00 p.m., he was there in his suspenders, smoking a pipe, and working on his latest textbook. While I sat there, he wrote each letter by hand and specifically addressed the letters to the most senior and well-established faculty members at every school where I was applying. That was an unforgettable experience!

Finally, I want to thank Frans Spaepen and Mike Aziz at Harvard University. They were my Ph.D. advisors and continued my outstanding training and foundation in fundamental materials science research. During my 5 years as a grad student, their guidance and deep understanding of materials science taught me how to approach longer-term projects, to develop skills as an independent researcher, and to clearly and concisely convey my findings in publications.

If you could go back and give yourself some advice as a Cornell student, what would it be?

I had a lot of fun with playing trumpet in marching band, as well as playing intramural tennis and volleyball, while at Cornell. But if I could go back, I would make even more time to fully experience all of the social activities that Cornell has to offer. Being a student is a truly special yet fleeting time in one’s life. Those years go by very quickly, so take time to join clubs, learn new hobbies, hang out with friends, and soak it up!

Dr. Wilk received his bachelor’s degree in materials science from Cornell University, and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University. Before ASM, he worked as a Senior Member of Technical Staff in the Central Research Labs at Texas Instruments, where his interests focused on silicon-based resonant tunneling diodes, novel transistor gate stacks and advanced process integration. Dr. Wilk subsequently worked as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in the Advanced Materials Department at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, where he researched high-permittivity dielectrics, metal gate stacks, and CMOS device integration, as well as indium gallium arsenide and lithium niobate materials for high-speed and optoelectronic devices, respectively. Wilk currently has over 50 journal publications and holds over 60 U.S. patents.