Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship

Shilong Zhang is pursuing a MS-PhD integrated program in Electrical Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea. His doctoral research focuses on advancing next‑generation mask technology for semiconductor lithography. Under the guidance of faculty in design and manufacturing, Zhang’s work centers on developing machine‑learning (ML)–driven approaches to make curvilinear optical proximity correction (OPC) faster, more accurate, and practical for real manufacturing use — making ML-guided curvilinear OPC a deployable, industry‑ready technology.

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The US $10,000 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding graduate student studying advanced lithography or a related field. The funding can be used to support tuition and fees, textbooks, supplies and equipment required for courses of instruction, and a computer or computer upgrade.

The scholarship is jointly funded by Siemens EDA and SPIE. In addition to the $10,000 scholarship, Siemens EDA provides the recipient travel support to SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning to receive the award.

The scholarship honors the memory of Nick Cobb, an SPIE Senior Member and Chief Engineer at Mentor Graphics, now Siemens EDA, and his groundbreaking contributions enabling optical and process proximity correction for IC manufacturing.

All applicants must meet the following requirements in order for the application to be forwarded for consideration:

• Be a Student Member of SPIE 
• Be a graduate student studying in advanced lithography or a related field
• Include two (2) required recommendations. Family members, relatives, and students are not eligible to submit a recommendation. 
• Complete the recommendations using the online application system. Letters sent as email attachments will not be accepted.
• File your annual scholarship report with SPIE if you have received previous scholarship(s)
• Have not already received a terminal degree (MD, JD, PhD, etc.) 
• Submit a complete application

Clay Klein, pursuing a PhD in physics at JILA and the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU), was awarded the 2025 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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Nicholas Jenkins, pursuing a PhD in Physics at JILA and the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU), was awarded the 2024 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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Brendan McBennett, pursuing a PhD in Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU), was awarded the 2023 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship. 

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Yonghwi Kwon, pursuing an MS-PhD integrated course at the School of Electrical Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), was awarded the 2022 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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Yuka Esashi, pursuing her PhD in physics at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Kapteyn-Murnane group, was awarded the 2021 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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Luke Long, pursuing his PhD in the physics department of the University of California at Berkeley, was awarded the 2020 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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Haoyu Yang, pursuing his PhD at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was awarded the inaugural Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship.

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The Nick Cobb Scholarship is one of several named SPIE scholarships that are funded by companies and individuals who partner with SPIE to serve its non-profit educational mission.