Cyprian Uzoh: 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award recipient

BSMetE ’78
Co-founder, EmekaTech Inc.

A materials engineer, technology innovator, entrepreneur and humanitarian who leverages creativity to create products and programs that improve communities and inspire and uplift people.

In the 1990s, the computer chip industry faced an emerging crisis: The aluminum wires that connected transistors and other components on chips were fragile and couldn’t handle increasing power and performance demands. But, despite 30 years of trying, there were no known methods for forming microscopic wires from copper, the ideal alternative.

Cyprian Uzoh, a talented young metallurgist and materials scientist at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, was assigned to a team investigating copper interconnects. With dedication and creativity, Uzoh developed low-cost methods for forming copper wires in submicron cavities, a process now called “bottom-up metal filling.”

In 1997, IBM stunned the industry when it debuted the first copper-based chips, an innovation that is still at the heart of our technology today. In 2006, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association honored Uzoh and his colleagues with its inventor of the year award for the innovation.

“When I solved it, I never knew how big a deal it was, because I was still very naïve,” says Uzoh. “But what made the work singular was that I created all the supporting technologies that formed the backbone of copper interconnect; without them it would have remained a holy grail concept.”

That thoroughness and focus on practicality has served Uzoh well in his career as an inventor. In 1999, Uzoh moved to Silicon Valley, where he worked for several tech companies, solving many industrial problems. His expertise includes metal deposition, novel metallurgical structures, interaction of surfaces, hybrid bonding, and advanced packaging structures, among others. Over his career, Uzoh has published more than 40 journal papers, received more than 400 utility patents in the United States and more than 700 worldwide.

Currently, Uzoh is a cofounder of EmekaTech Inc. a Santa Clara, California, a biotechnology startup that develops sustainable organic products for pest control, notably houseflies, horseflies and mushroom pests. He also supports projects in his childhood village, Ojoto in Nigeria’s Anambra state, including road construction and drainage projects, as well as reading and other educational programs.

How did your engineering education enable your success?

I’m somebody who believes in fundamentals, and it is the fundamentals I learned at UW-Madison that helped me. We had professors who had practical, industrial experience. They could tell you, “This is theoretical, but this is what happens in real life.” We had a great analytical laboratory, and equipment for forging and welding different types of metals. When I went to graduate school, having those skills made things a lot easier for me.

What impact has your work had on society?

My copper work is the biggest highlight; it’s something that’s been part of our lives for more than 25 years. It is still the metal of choice for interconnecting the billions of transistors in microprocessors and other electronics. It’s very difficult to fabricate high performance devices without using many of my inventions.

Which do you prefer?

Camp Randall, the Kohl Center or Field House?
I didn’t have much time for sports, but I played for our soccer club, Dynamo, on Saturdays. And I was pretty good at table tennis; my friends encouraged me to try out for the varsity team. But I said “No, I’m an engineering student; I’ll flunk out if spend too much time on the road playing collegiate table tennis!”

State Street or Lakeshore path?
I hung out on Mifflin Street and really liked the Co-op. You could get real fresh milk, lentils, rice and beans—different types of organic foods that were not readily available in regular stores in those days.