Cui appointed new chair of UTA Department of Physics

Thursday, Sep 03, 2026 • Greg Pederson :

A new era in leadership for the UTA Department of Physics began September 1 with the arrival of Jingbiao Cui as department chair.

Cui, who is also a professor of physics, comes to UTA from the University of North Texas, where he had served as professor since 2019 and chair of the physics department from 2019 to 2025. He replaces Alex Weiss, who served as UTA physics chair since 2010 — one of the longest tenures in College of Science history — and now returns to his faculty role full-time.

“I am honored to serve as the chair of the Department of Physics at UTA,” Cui said. “We have a talented and dedicated community of faculty, staff, and students, and I am excited to work with them to build on our department’s many strengths and pursue new opportunities for growth.

“I was drawn to UTA because of its strong commitment to research, student success, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The University is experiencing tremendous momentum driven by the UTA 2030 Strategic Plan, and I see exciting opportunities for the Department of Physics to further expand its impact across Texas and beyond.”

College of Science Dean Morteza Khaledi announced the appointment and said that Dr. Cui — who was selected through a rigorous and competitive national search — is a distinguished physicist and accomplished academic leader with extensive experience in higher education administration, research, and program development.

“I am confident that under Dr. Cui’s leadership, the Department of Physics will build upon its strong momentum and continue to reach new heights in educating the next generation of physicists, advancing groundbreaking research and discovery, and strengthening its national and international impact,” Khaledi said.

“I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Alex Weiss for his leadership, steadfast commitment, and many contributions to the Department of Physics and the College of Science. Serving as chair for many years requires vision, patience, persistence, and a deep sense of responsibility. Dr. Weiss has brought all of these qualities — and much more — to his leadership of the department. I am deeply grateful for his dedicated service and for the strong foundation he has helped build for the department’s future.”

Cui said he looks forward to strengthening the department’s research programs, enhancing its educational offerings, expanding opportunities for students at all levels, and developing new partnerships across campus and with industry.

“Most importantly, I want to help create an environment where our students, faculty, and staff can do their best work and where the Department of Physics can continue to grow and make a meaningful impact,” he said.

During his tenure at UNT, Cui led a period of significant growth and advancement. This included increasing student enrollment, the number of physics majors, and research expenditures while strengthening the department’s academic and research infrastructure. Prior to his time at UNT, he served as professor and chair of the Physics and Materials Science Department at the University of Memphis.

Before that, he was a professor of physics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was also director of the Arkansas Center for Plasmonics Solar Cell Research, which was funded by a National Science Foundation grant of $6.7 million to develop low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells.

Cui’s research includes work in semiconductors, nanotechnology, photonics and spectroscopy, nanomaterials, 2D materials, and electronic structures. Among the projects his lab at UNT was involved in was the fabrication of quantum confined nanomaterials for possible use in electronic and photonic devices and future technologies.

He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been consistently recognized among the world’s top 2 percent most-cited scientists in Stanford University’s citation-impact assessment. As principal investigator and co-PI, he has secured more than $20 million in research funding from federal and state agencies.

Cui earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He received a B.S. in Physics from Anhui University in 1989.

Khaledi thanked members of the search committee, including College of Science faculty members Jianzhong Su (chair), Yue Deng, Joseph Ngai, Nilakshi Veerabathina, Jaehoon Yu, and Nevin Weinberg, for their careful consideration of the candidates and dedicated service throughout the search process.

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