Ronald G. Polcawich

Ronald G. Polcawich is a Program Manager at DARPA in the Microsystems Technology Office and currently on detail to DARPA from the Micro & Nano Materials & Devices Branch of US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Adelphi, MD.  He received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (1997), and M.S. degree in Materials from Penn State University (1999), and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State University (2007).  While at DARPA, Dr. Polcawich is currently leading the Precise on Precise Robust Inertial Guidance for Munitions (PRIGM) program, the SHort-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms (SHRIMP) program, and A MEchanically Based Antenna (AMEBA) program.  In addition, he is actively mentoring 5 Young Faculty Award recipients in the area of nonlinear mechanics for inertial sensors, self-contained actuation materials, and functional materials via additive manufacturing.

Dr. Polcawich currently holds 17 patents, has authored over 100 journal and proceedings articles, and authored 3 book chapters on fabrication and design of piezoelectric MEMS devices using PZT thin films.  Additionally, Dr. Polcawich received the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the 2015 IEEE UFFC Ferroelectrics Young Investigator Award.  In the 4^th Quarter of 2017, Dr. Polcawich received the Department of Defense Laboratory Scientist of the Quarter.

Dr. Polcawich is a senior member of IEEE and a member of the IEEE Ferroelectrics Committee and Technical Program Committee IV Applications of Ferroelectrics.  Dr. Polcawich is also serving on the technical advisory committee for the International PiezoMEMS Workshop,