Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)

Research Advised by Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister

Pister Group:  List of Projects | List of Researchers

BPN951: Berkeley Low-cost Interplanetary Solar Sail (BLISS)

Alexander Alvara
Bhuvan M. Belur
2024

Space exploration often costs multiple millions of dollars for each exploratory mission to get a single piece of equipment into orbit. These missions usually return information in the form of scans or images or samples in the form of extracted material. This work proposes the manufacture and deployment of thousands of imaging capable solar sails systems with 10 gram payloads. Power generation is enabled through solar panels and batteries. Navigation is enabled through one square meter solar sails maneuvered by inchworm motors. Communications are enabled by laser transmitters and SPAD...

Amanda Jung

Graduate Student Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2029 (Anticipated)

Wentian Mi

Graduate Student Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2024 (Anticipated)

BPN924: Multimodality Platform for Neurogenesis and Neural Signal Recording After Stroke

Wentian Mi
2024

Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Recovery from stroke is complex and ultimately limited by the brains limited ability to regenerate damaged tissue. Ideally, we would want to drive neurogenesis and angiogenesis in a stroke lesion to aid in recovery. We propose a multimodality platform for stimulating neurogenesis which simultaneously allows for electrophysiological recording of neurons in the lesion area after stroke. Our aim is to provide a paradigm for making complex substrates for nervous tissue. With various devices integrated, multiple functions can be...

Yichen Liu

Graduate Student Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2027 (Anticipated)
First-year Ph.D. student in EECS at UC Berkeley Concentration in MEMS The current project on locomotion controller design on micro-walker through reinforcement learning

BSAC Spring 2023 Research Review Presenter

BSAC Spring 2024 Research Review Presenter

Integrated Low-Power Wireless Systems for the Next Generation of IoT, Sensors and Microrobots

Alex Moreno
Kristofer S.J. Pister
Ali Niknejad
2023

The relentless pursuit of smaller, cheaper, and lower-power wireless electronics has driven the design of novel radio designs such as crystal-free radios, that o er a fully functional wireless node with minimal external components. At Berkeley, the Single-Chip Micro Mote (SCμM), a 3x2 mm, 4.2mg crystal-free 802.15.4 and BLE wireless SoC, was developed to make swarms of mm-scale microrobots a reality. This dissertation will begin by discussing SCμM in the context of system integration, including the challenge of accurate channel frequency tuning in the face of varying temperature and...

An Implantable Radiation Detector for Cancer Radiotherapy

Lydia Lee
Kristofer S.J. Pister
2023

The conversion of trigger events to their digital equivalent is a central component of any timing-based front end, with applications found in mass spectrometry, single channel analyzers, and a huge variety of 3D mapping and ranging systems. At the same time, ever- tightening size, weight, and power budgets for space launches with a skyrocketing (no pun intended) number of launches in the last decade have made application-specific integrated circuit solutions increasingly appealing. However, conventional analog methods of pulse discrimination introduce timing walk or are limited to a narrow...

2-DOF Actuated Micromirror Designed for Large DC Deflection

Mathew Last
Kristofer S.J. Pister
1999

A 2 degree-of-freedom micromirror has been designed and fabricated in MCNC’s Multi-User MEMS Process (MUMPS). The structure uses thermal actuators to actuate both degrees of freedom. We have demonstrated actuator-controlled DC deflection of up to 28 degrees (56 degrees optical) in the axis of rotation that lies parallel to the substrate, and up to 11 degrees (22 degrees optical) in the axis of rotation perpendicular to the substrate. The force-redirecting linkage has been shown to be able to deflect the mirror more than 45 degrees (90 degrees optical) using a probe tip to provide actuation...

Small Solar Sails could be the next ‘Giant Leap’ for Interplanetary Space Exploration

January 10, 2024
Researchers aim to create a fleet of low-cost, autonomous spacecraft propelled by light particles

Nearly 70 years after the launch of the first satellite, we still have more questions than answers about space. But a team of Berkeley researchers is on a mission to change this with a proposal to build a fleet of low-cost, autonomous spacecraft, each weighing only 10 grams and propelled by nothing more than the pressure of solar radiation. These miniaturized solar sails could potentially visit thousands of near-Earth asteroids and comets, capturing high-resolution images and...