Daniel M. Fleetwood (born August 3, 1958) is an American scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator. He is credited as being one of the first to identify the origins of

flicker noise Flicker noise is a type of electronic noise with a 1/''f'' power spectral density. It is therefore often referred to as 1/''f'' noise or pink noise, though these terms have wider definitions. It occurs in almost all electronic devices and can show ...

in semiconductor devices and its usefulness in understanding the effects of ionizing radiation on microelectronic devices and materials. Fleetwood is the Olin H. Landreth Chair of Electrical Engineering at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. His research work focuses on the effects of ionizing radiation on microelectronic devices and materials, origins of 1/f noise in semiconductors and radiation hardness assurance. In 1997 he received R&D 100 and ''IndustryWeek'' magazine awards for co-inventing a new type of computer memory chip based on mobile protons. The chip was recognized as ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * Di ...

'' magazine's 1998 Invention of the Year in computer hardware and electronics. In 2000 he was named one of the top 250 most highly cited researchers in engineering by the Institute for Scientific Information. He is a Fellow of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

and

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, and a Grandmaster of International Correspondence Chess.

Early life and education

Fleetwood was born on August 3, 1958 in Surprise,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

to Louis and Dorothy Fleetwood. He graduated from

Seymour High School (Indiana) Seymour High School is a public high school in Seymour, IN, Seymour, Indiana. It is the only high school in the Seymour Community Schools district. History Prior to 1870, an iron fence separated a tract of forest land from the growing town of Sey ...

in 1976. He took active interest in sports and was a member of the Seymour High School baseball team, pitching a perfect game in 1976. He joined Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics in

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

as an undergraduate. He graduated from Purdue in 1984 with a PhD in physics. He received the 1984 Lark-Horovitz Award, Purdue University in recognition of demonstrated ability and exceptional promise in research in

solid-state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the l ...

Career

Sandia National Laboratories

Fleetwood joined

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Ba ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

in 1984. He was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the Radiation Technology and Assurance Department in 1990. In 1997 he received R&D 100 and ''IndustryWeek'' magazine awards for co-invention of a new type of computer memory chip based on mobile protons in Silicon dioxide (protonic nonvolatile field effect transistor memory). This chip was also recognized as ''Discover'' magazine's 1998 Invention of the Year in computer hardware and electronics. In 2000 he was named one of the top 250 most highly cited researchers in Engineering by the Institute for Scientific Information.

Vanderbilt University

In 1999 Fleetwood left Sandia to accept the position of Professor of Electrical Engineering at

. In 2000, he was also named a Professor of Physics, in 2001 he was appointed Associate Dean for Research of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, and from June 2003 through June 2020 he was Chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. He is associated with The Radiation Effects and Reliability Group at Vanderbilt which is the largest of its type at any US university. and

Institute for Space and Defense Electronics The Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) is a research facility at Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. The ISDE is housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science an ...

. His research interests are Effects of ionizing radiation on microelectronic devices and materials,

Flicker noise Flicker noise is a type of electronic noise with a 1/''f'' power spectral density. It is therefore often referred to as 1/''f'' noise or pink noise, though these terms have wider definitions. It occurs in almost all electronic devices and can show ...

in semiconductors, radiation hardness assurance test methods for mission-critical equipments, radiation effects modeling and simulation and novel microelectronic materials. Fleetwood is the author of more than 600 publications on radiation effects in microelectronics, defects in semiconductor devices, and low-frequency noise. These papers have been cited more than 26000 times (citation h factor = 89, per Google Scholar). He was named an Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology,

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

in 2011. He currently serves as Senior Editor, Radiation Effects, of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science and Distinguished Lectures Chair of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society.

Awards and honors

* Fellow,

, and

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

* Merit Award, IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society, 2009 * Distinguished Science Alumnus, Purdue University, 2007 * ''Discover'' magazine (1998), ''R&D Magazine'' R&D 100 (1997) and ''IndustryWeek'' magazine Technology of Year (1997) Awards * More than 20 Outstanding/Meritorious Conference Paper Awards for IEEE Conferences * Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories, 1990–1999 * Lark-Horovitz Award, Purdue University, 1984

Other achievements

Fleetwood became the eighth US Correspondence Chess Grandmaster in 2008, beating Poland's SM Maciej Jedrzejowski. His chess talent was recognized when he captured the ACUI Midwest regional Collegiate Chess Championship in 1981 and then the

United States Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, the World Chess Federation. US Chess administers the official national rating s ...

's premier correspondence tournament, the 1993 Absolute Championship. He is currently competing in the 33rd World Championship of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF).https://www.iccf.com/event?id=100104

Personal life

Daniel is married to Betsy Fleetwood and together they have three sons: Aaron，Zach and Nathan. The family lives in

Brentwood, Tennessee Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.1958 births Living people American chess players Correspondence chess grandmasters Vanderbilt University faculty Sandia National Laboratories people Fellow Members of the IEEE Purdue University alumni Computer engineers 21st-century American engineers 21st-century American physicists 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors People from Jackson County, Indiana