Following a nationwide search, Marquette has named Dr. Payman Zarkesh-Ha as the Opus College of Engineering’s V. Clayton Lafferty Endowed Chair in Electrical Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering. Zarkesh-Ha previously served as professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of New Mexico, where he also held the position of Director of the Center for High Technology Materials. His research focuses on microelectronics and VLSI system design and modeling. He has published over 140 peer-reviewed journal papers and conference proceedings, and he holds 23 U.S. patents in his field.
The V. Clayton Lafferty Endowed Chair in Electrical Engineering was established in the Opus College in 2011 to support education and research in smart sensor systems. The position is named in honor of V. Clayton (“Clay”) and Beverly Lafferty, 1950 graduates of the university’s Opus College of Engineering and Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, respectively. Clay Lafferty spent much of his professional career as the head of research and development at United Parcel Service. He held several patents and created the hub system used to support the company’s package delivery and logistics business. A legacy family with multiple generations having graduated from Marquette, several members continue to support student success and research initiatives in the Opus College.
“Dr. Payman Zarkesh-Ha will bring world-class expertise to Marquette and Milwaukee, continuing to define our university as a hub of education and innovation in sensor technology and microelectronics,” said Dr. Kristina Ropella, Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering. “We are grateful to the Lafferty family’s support and vision for Marquette’s educational and research missions. Their generosity paves the way for Marquette engineers to develop novel solutions to serve communities.”
At Marquette, Zarkesh-Ha will lead research in the university’s advanced microelectronics and sensors lab and class-1000 cleanroom. He will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in advanced analog electronics this fall, and several courses in the future in the areas of microelectronics, device fabrication and VLSI.
