Professor Gregory Parsons, the Celanese Acetate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 SRC Aristotle Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC).

The Aristotle Award, first presented in 1995, recognizes SRC-supported faculty whose deep commitment to the educational experience of students has had a profound and continuing impact on their professional performance and consequently a significant impact for members over a long period of time. A primary goal of SRC is to produce advanced degree students with the capability to work effectively in the semiconductor industry. The Award is intended to acknowledge outstanding teaching in its broadest sense, emphasizing student advising and teaching during the research project thereby contributing to the maturation of the student.

“This award tells me that my SRC industrial colleagues in the critical field of semiconductor manufacturing believe it is important to recognize the positive impact of the PhD students they have hired from my group, and the valuable contributions they continue to make in our field,” Parsons said.

Parsons is internationally recognized for his advances in surface reaction engineering, particularly in thin film deposition, etching, and patterning for advanced electronic materials and devices. His work has elevated atomic-scale synthesis and processing, including reaction mechanisms for ALD, ALE, ASD, MLD, and related techniques.

Since the mid-1990s, Prof. Parsons has guided more than 50 PhD graduates, many supported through SRC research and education development programs. He fosters a collaborative research culture advancing surface chemical processes essential for future electronics and advanced materials. Parsons co-founded the AVS Atomic Layer Deposition Conference in 2001, now the field’s leading ALD forum, welcoming over 1,000 attendees in 2025. His leadership has shaped generations of researchers who are now leaders at top technology companies, national labs, and academic institutions. Parsons is a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society, recipient of the prestigious ALD Innovation Award, a member of NC State’s Academy of Outstanding Teachers, and has won numerous research awards at NC State, including the College of Engineering’s R. J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Extension, the Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, and the Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor Award

As an award-winning professor, Parsons describes his approach to mentorship as such, “I offer students the opportunity to find their own pathway to learn. I work to provide students with necessary resources and an overall vision for their research, then give them freedom to solve their problem. They often experience failures, but these allow me to push them to accept setbacks as part of the natural learning process.I want my students to learn self-confidence, and to value their own opinion regarding what constitutes true research success.”