Wong is the Charles Smithgall Institute Endowed Chair and Regents’ Professor and his research interests include polymers and macromolecules, nanomaterials and nanoengineered devices, and functional electronic and optical materials.. After his doctoral study, he was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with Nobel Laureate Professor Henry Taube at Stanford University.  Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he was with AT&T Bell Laboratories for many years and became an AT&T Bell Laboratories Fellow in 1992.

The award itself, which will be presented to Wong in March, is named in honor of Heinrich Barkhausen, an electrical engineering professor for decades in Dresden, Germany. He is noted for his innovative work in communication and amplifier technology. The award is given by the Material Research Network Dresden (MFD), the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing Dresden, and the University of Technology Dresden. He gained international reputation for discovering the Barkhausen Noise Effect.

As part of his prize, Wong will receive 10,000 euros, and he’ll also travel to Germany to officially receive the award. Wong’s recent accolades include the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Field Award in 2006 and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ TEEM Award in 2008.