EE Postdoctoral Research Assistant Ahmed Kord Selected by Forbes to Join the 30 Under 30 Class of 2020
Out of almost 20,000 nominations this year, Kord was selected based on his achievements that were reviewed by Forbes editors and expert industry judges.
“I turn 30 in a few months and I cannot think of a better birthday gift! Except, maybe, a fudgy chocolate cake”, Ahmed Kord an Electrical Engineering Postdoctoral Research Assistant said in response to being selected as one of the newest members of the Science 2020 Forbes 30 under 30 group.
Out of almost 20,000 nominations this year, Kord was selected based on his achievements that were reviewed by Forbes editors and expert industry judges. The judges for this category were Diane Wu, CEO of Trace Genomics and an alumnus of the 2017 Under 30 list; Katie Rae, CEO and managing partner of The Engine; Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program and host of the Weather Channel program Weather Geeks; and Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
“This is a great acknowledgment of Ahmed’s past accomplishments and future potential. It is also a testament to the broader impact of his research on society at large”, Professor Harish Krishnaswamy stated. Kord is a Post Doc in Professor Krishnaswamy’s lab.
Kord’s research focuses on time-reversal symmetry, which is a fundamental property of many physical and engineering systems. As more devices connect to the internet, there's a greater need for them to transmit and receive data at the same time. This requires the use of circulators, which are often bulky and require magnets for high-performance. Kord has developed a new class of magnet-less circulators, which are smaller and enable more applications.
Most recently, he is exploring the possibility of using an array of magnet-free circulators to imitate the conduction properties of a special phase of matter known as the topological insulator. In addition to its significance from a basic research standpoint, the engineered array can also be used as a programmable antenna interface for modern communication systems. Another exciting project that Kord is currently investigating within this frame of work, is using superconductors to build magnetless non-reciprocal components at cryogenic temperatures. Along with other technologies, this can bring quantum computing closer to reality which would have a disruptive impact on many industries.
Ahmed Kord is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist on EE Professor Harish Krishnaswamy’s research team. He received his BS and MS in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from Cairo University, and his PhD from The University of Texas at Austin.