DBT40 Honoree: Julia Kozhukh

Title: Principal Scientist

Workplace: DuPont

Age: 37

Julia Kozhukh | DBT PHOTO BY LUIGI CIUFFETELLI

Semiconductor chips, the tiny components that power nearly all modern electronics, are perhaps one of the most important inventions in history, and DuPont principal scientist Julia Kozhukh is doing her part to continue improving them.

She leads a global team of scientists and engineers in innovating and developing novel chemistries that enable semiconductor chip fabrication. As manufacturers introduce new designs for increased performance, lower energy usage, and lower cost, new enabling materials are needed.
Kozhukh, who holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the inventor on 22 granted U.S. patents and has authored 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals, was integral to the development of DuPont’s global program for developing slurry products to flatten tungsten metal layers in chips by careful polishing.

Within DuPont, Kozhukh serves as a mentor to other Ph.D. scientists in the U.S. and Taiwan and has served as chapter leader of the Women’s Innovation Network and chair of the Technology Safety Council. In these roles, she represented and advocated for professional development, safety and technical development for her colleagues

Kozhukh was also recently a founding member of the DuPont Newark Sustainability Group, which is working to design and implement impactful sustainability efforts, including process waste reduction and reuse.