Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)

Research Advised by Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister

Pister Group:  List of Projects | List of Researchers

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
Marni Ellery
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...

https://engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2024/01/small-solar-sails-could-be-the-nex…

AuREO for 3D MEMS and CMOS Integration

Yichen Liu
2024
Spring 2024 BSAC Research Review Presentation View Presentation View Slides ...

BLISS: Interplanetary Exploration with Swarms of Low-Cost Spacecraft

Alexander Alvara
Lydia Lee
Emmanuel Sin
Nathan Lambert
Andrew Westphal
Kristofer S.J. Pister
2024
Leveraging advancements in micro-scale technology, we propose a fleet of autonomous, low-cost, small solar sails for interplanetary exploration. The Berkeley Low-cost Interplanetary Solar Sail (BLISS) project aims to utilize small-scale technologies to create a fleet of tiny interplanetary femto-spacecraft for rapid, low-cost exploration of the inner solar system. This paper describes the hardware required to build a ∼10 g spacecraft using a 1 m2 solar sail steered by micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) inchworm actuators. The trajectory control to a NEO, here 101955 Bennu, is detailed...

Omar Alkendi

Undergraduate Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
B.S. 2023

BPN956: Time-of-Flight Hardware for the Solar Probe ANalyzer for Ions (SPAN-Ion)

Omar Alkendi
Lydia Lee
2023

Monitoring and building our understanding of space weather is necessary to protect current and future astronauts and hardware, as well as further our understanding of its effects on atmospheric development and loss. This project has developed two radiation-hardened sensor frontends to measure the ion composition of the solar wind aboard the Solar Probe ANalyzer for Ions (SPAN-Ion). SPAN-Ion uses time-of-flight mass spectrometry to distinguish ions by their mass: charge ratios; the target architecture for future missions decreases mass and increases speed in exchange for several orders of...

Hydrogel Actuated Carbon Fiber Microelectrode Array

Oliver Chen
Michel M. Maharbiz
Kristofer S. J. Pister
2023

Glial passivation and subsequent electrical insulation of implantable microelectrodes is a major bottleneck for long-term viability of neural probes. Self-deploying microelectrodes have been developed to minimize glial scarring and adverse biological effects near neural recording sites, but typically suffer from low electrode densities and deployment distance.

In this dissertation, we propose and evaluate a large displacement, self-deploying architecture using a water absorbing hydrogel to extrude a high density carbon fiber array out of a microfabricated shuttle. To enable mm-scale...

Custom Wireless Sensor Networks and the Tapeout Class

Daniel Lovell
2023
Fall 2023 BSAC Research Review Presentation View Presentation View Slides Project: BPN803 - Kristofer S.J. Pister Group

Titan Yuan

Graduate Student Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2027 (Anticipated)

Titan received his B.S. and M.S. in EECS from UC Berkeley in 2019 and 2020, respectively, advised by Prof. Kris Pister. After graduating, he spent two years in industry working on radar embedded software and signal processing for autonomous vehicles. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in EECS, also advised by Prof. Kris Pister, with an interest in wireless sensor networks, RFICs, and RF/wireless sensing.

Yu-Chi Lin

Graduate Student Researcher
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Kristofer S.J. Pister (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2027 (Anticipated)

Yu-Chi Lin is a third-year Ph.D. student, working with Prof. Ali Niknejad and Prof. Kris Pister, at Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC) and Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (...