Kawasaki receives UW-Madison H.I. Romnes Fellowship

Jason Kawasaki, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, is one of 11 researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison awarded a 2025-2026 H.I. Romnes Fellowship.

The fellowships, awarded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, recognize faculty with exceptional research contributions within their first six years from promotion to a tenured position. The award is named in recognition of the late WARF trustees president H.I. Romnes and comes with $60,000 that may be spent over five years.

In his research, Kawasaki uses molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize strained thin films, superlattices, and membranes of Heusler compounds to engineer their electronic, magnetic, thermoelectric, topological, and mechanical properties. He is devising new strategies to sandwich together two materials while maintaining atomically sharp boundaries between the layers. Applications for his research include spintronics and energy efficient computing. His previous awards include the American Vacuum Society’s Peter Mark Memorial Award, International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy Young Investigator Award, UW–Madison Vilas Associate Award, Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s Young Investigator Award, DARPA Young Faculty Award and NSF Career Award.

“At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, our researchers push the boundaries of discovery with unwavering curiosity and impact—these awards are not just recognitions, but reflections of their tireless pursuit of knowledge that shapes our world,” says Dorota Brzezinska, vice chancellor for research. “This year’s awardees have demonstrated a commitment to the Wisconsin Idea and are inspiring future generations of researchers.”

The awards are possible due to the research efforts of UW–Madison faculty and staff. Technology that arises from these efforts is licensed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the income from successful licenses is returned to the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research , where it’s used to fund research activities and awards throughout the divisions on campus.

Read more about Kawasaki and other awardees on the UW-Madison Research page.