Rate My Professor Michael Resh

Michael A. Reshchikov is a Professor of Physics and Director of the M.S. in Physics Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his M.S. in Physics of Semiconductors from Kalinin Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in 1989. Reshchikov began his research career in 1982 as a researcher in the Laboratory of Physics of Semiconductor Heterostructures at the Ioffe Institute in Russia, serving until 1997. He then worked as a Research Associate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University from 1997 to 1999. Since May 1999, he has been a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, achieving the rank of full Professor in June 2016.

Reshchikov's academic interests center on point defects in semiconductors and photoluminescence from semiconductors, with a particular focus on gallium nitride (GaN). He has authored over 250 publications, accumulating more than 25,000 citations and establishing himself as a prominent figure in the study of defect-related luminescence in wide-bandgap semiconductors. His most influential work includes the comprehensive review 'A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices' (2005, cited 14,932 times), co-authored with Ü. Özgür and others, and 'Luminescence properties of defects in GaN' (2005, cited 2,486 times) with H. Morkoç. Other key contributions encompass investigations into yellow and green luminescence bands, acceptor complexes such as BeGa, Ca, Mg, Cd, and Hg in GaN, carbon defects, vacancy-containing defects, and passivation mechanisms. Recent publications include 'Dual Nature of the BeGa Acceptor in GaN: Evidence from Photoluminescence' (Phys. Rev. B, 2023), 'On the Origin of the Yellow Luminescence Band in GaN' (Phys. Stat. Sol. (b), 2023), and 'Photoluminescence from Vacancy-Containing Defects in GaN' (Phys. Stat. Sol. (a), 2023). He employs techniques like steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, Hall effect measurements, and first-principles calculations. Reshchikov has secured National Science Foundation grants for collaborative research on co-doping in GaN and received VCU Presidential Research Quest Fund awards. He teaches Senior Physics Lab, Experimental Skills for Physicists, and Fundamentals of Semiconductor Nanostructures, mentoring graduate students in his lab.