Dennis Hess’s research interests are in thin film science and technology, surface and interface modification and characterization, microelectronics processing and electronic materials. His group focuses on the establishment of fundamental structure-property relationships and their connection to chemical process sequences used in the fabrication of novel films, electronic materials, devices, and nanostructures. Control of the surface properties of materials such as dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, and paper or paper board by film deposition or surface modification allows the design of such surfaces for a variety of applications in microelectronics, packaging, sensors, microfluidics, and separation processes.

Dr. Joy Harris has a diverse career within the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech). Through her primary appointment as a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), she serves as a teacher, mentor, and research advisor to undergraduate students. Within ECE, Dr. Harris focuses on lowering barriers and increasing access to all opportunities within the department. She also serves as faculty director for the Engineering for Social Innovation (ESI) Center, where she creates the space for students to use their technical skills for positive social impact. 

As ESI director, she leads undergraduate service breaks to developing countries; she operates a graduate leadership and development program; and she helps her students increase the operating capacity of non-profit organizations. Dr. Harris formerly served as faculty director of the Global Leadership Living and Learning Community (LLC), where she taught a course in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and she helped her first-year LLC students to successfully integrate into the GA Tech community. Dr. Harris also served as one of the Associate Directors for the CREATE-X entrepreneurship initiative. In this capacity, she helped students increase their entrepreneurial confidence through designing their own career paths and by launching startups. Through all her roles on campus, Dr. Harris enjoys teaching and serving thousands of students throughout the academic year. 

Joy’s educational background includes a bachelor's in mathematics from Spelman College and a bachelor's in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. She earned her master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Princeton University and an MBA at Georgia Tech in 2017.

Tequila A. L. Harris is a Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and is the director of the Highly Advanced Roll-to-Roll iManufacturing Systems (HARRiS) group. Her research focuses on investigating the fundamental science associated with manufacture of polymer thin films from fluids (e.g., solutions, dispersions, slurries, etc.) as they are coated onto permeable or impermeable surfaces to make components or devices. She explores the connectivity between thin film functionality, based on their manufacture or structure, and their life expectancy, to elucidate mechanisms by which performance or durability can be predicted. In addition to conducting computational analysis, developing analytical models and running experiments, Harris also develops new manufacturing technologies to fabricate thin films, in wide area or discrete patterns. Target applications are well-suited for a variety of industries including food, energy, electronic, and environmental systems to name a few. In conjunction with her research activities, she is committed to the education, mentoring, and advisement of students towards scholarly achievements. She has published over fifty peer-reviewed articles. Harris has several awards including the National Science Foundation's young investigator CAREER Award and the Lockheed Inspirational Young Faculty Award.

Robert Harris' background is in semiconductors and microelectronics. He serves as research faculty at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory and teach in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. His research focus is on photonic integrated circuits, heterogeneous integration, electronic warfare, and RF electronics.