Oct 09, 2014 04:41 PM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of New Mexico has appointed Sang M. Han, professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, as the new director of the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering Program.

The program is a joint collaboration the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.

 "Sang has had an outstanding record of teaching and research in the program, as well as having supervised a large number of graduate students at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels," said Joe Cecchi, dean of the School of Engineering. "I look forward to the thoughtful and innovative leadership that I know Sang will bring to this program."

Graduate students in the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering Program are given extraordinary latitude to design their own research problems and access to laboratories across the university to work with senior researchers to explore solutions.

Han will be responsible for improving and growing the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering graduate program, which provides a path for students with diverse backgrounds -- ranging from math, biology, physics, chemistry or engineering -- to conduct graduate research in an area outside their undergraduate background and pursue a degree in an interdisciplinary environment.

Han's goals in the position include growing the graduate enrollment, increasing industrial participating in improving the program and securing graduate fellowships to support the program.

Han's research interests include thin film processing and nanoscale surface corrugation for enhanced light trapping for photovoltaic devices; technology development for energy harvesting in urban areas; metal matrix composite development for high-efficiency multijunction solar cells; heteroepitaxial films on silicon for photovoltaic, electronic and sensor applications; and hybrid micro/nanofluidic systems for advanced bioseparation and analysis.

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit