Jessica Boles receives Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award

EECS Assistant Professor Jessica Boles has been selected to receive the University of California’s Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award for the 2026-27 academic year.

Granted by the UC Office of the President, this award advances the UC’s commitment to supporting the scholarship, creative activity, and promise of early-career faculty across its ten campuses. The initiative is backed by a $50,000 one-time allocation designated to fund each recipient’s proposed research.

Boles was selected for her team’s project, “Thin-Film Piezoelectric Resonators as Enablers of High-Efficiency, Miniaturized Power Electronics.” The work, led by graduate student Wentao Xu, aims to achieve new milestones in hardware minimization and energy efficiency by exploring how advanced thin-film materials can radically shrink and optimize the power electronics that drive modern technology.