Saw-Wai Hla received his Master of Science from the University of
Yangon, Myanmar in the area of experimental solid state
physics/high-Tc in 1990. Following this, he was awarded a spot at the
International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste,
Italy. There he received his diploma in theoretical condensed matter
physics in 1993. However, his true love has always been experimental
physics. So he joined the ICTP-IJS program at the University of
Ljublijana, Slovenia, where he worked in the area of experimental
surface and thin film physics, and received his Ph. D. in 1997. He was
then a postdoctoral fellow at the TASC-INFM and ELETTRA Synchrotron
Facility in Trieste, Italy, from 1997-1998, after which he took up
post-doctoral positions at the Freie Universitaet and the Paul Drude
Institute for Solid State Electronics, both in Berlin, Germany,
working in the group of Prof. K.H. Rieder. In 2001, Saw-Wai joined
Ohio University and became an Associate Professor in 2005.
Saw-Wai's expertise is in single-atom and single-molecule manipulation in the research area of nanotechnology. Saw-Wai has received numerous scholarships and fellowships from the ICTP. At Ohio University, he has received the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Outstanding Teacher Award in 2006.
He travels widely, not only to deliver lectures and meet with STM experts world-wide. Saw-Wai is a bass guitarist and his hobbies include hiking, mountaineering, and skiing.
