Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)

Research Advised by Professor Michel M. Maharbiz

Neural Dust: Ultrasonic Biological Interface

Dongjin Seo
Michel M. Maharbiz
Elad Alon
John Ngai
2016

A seamless, high density, chronic interface to the nervous system is essential to enable clinically relevant applications such as electroceuticals or brain-machine interfaces (BMI). Currently, a major hurdle in neurotechnology is the lack of an implantable neural interface system that remains viable for a patient’s lifetime due to the development of biological response near the implant. Recently, mm-scale implantable electromagnetics (EM) based wireless neural interfaces have been demonstrated in an effort to extend system longevity, but the implant size scaling (and therefore...

Instrumenting Flexible Substrates for Clinical Diagnosis and Monitoring

Amy Liao
Michel M. Maharbiz
2018

Over the past decade, there has been rapidly growing interest in wearable and implantable devices for a wide range of biomedical applications. For many applications involving prolonged contact with the body, devices that are compliant and can comfortably conform to and move with the patient are highly preferred. These flexible substrates (i.e. clothing, bandages, meshes, catheters, etc) can be instrumented to measure various physiological markers, such as temperature, pH, and oxygenation levels, to better inform clinical care. In this dissertation, I will discuss two examples of...

Jaehyun Park

Alumni
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2010

Oxygen Concentration Microgradients for Cell Culture

Jaehyun Park
Michel M. Maharbiz
Ming C. Wu
Amy E. Herr
2010

There is a growing need for technology that can control microscale oxygen gradients onto a tissue or culture sample in vitro. This dissertation introduces the oxygen microgradient chip (OMA), which employs electrolysis to generate oxygen microgradients within cell culture without forming bubbles. Dissolved oxygen generated at noble microelectrodes patterned on a chip surface diffuses through a gas-permeable silicone membrane and is dosed into cell culture. The amount of generated oxygen is directly proportional to a current flowing across the electrodes and thus can be controlled...

Light-induced Electrokinetics: A path to a Versatile Micro Total Analysis System

Justin Valley
Ming C. Wu
Michel M. Maharbiz
Amy E. Herr
2011

The micro total analysis system (uTAS) has seen great interest and advances since its definition over two decades ago. By harnessing the fabrication tools of the semiconductor industry and exploiting the unique physical phenomena that dominate at the micro- to nano-scale, these devices aim to address applications ranging from point-of-care diagnostics to pharmaceutical development. A truly versatile uTAS technology platform will enable reconfigurable, parallel, and high resolution analysis, processing, and sorting/purification. To this end, we present the concept of light-induced...

Sisi (Siyu) Chen

Alumni
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2012

Mobility in Wireless Sensor Networks

Ankur Mehta
Kristofer S.J. Pister
Michel M. Maharbiz
Alexandre Bayen
2012

The combination of mobility with wireless networks greatly expands the application space of both robots and distributed sensor networks; such a pervasive system can enable seamless integration between the digital and physical worlds. However, there are a number of issues in both robotic and wireless sensor network (WSN) fields that demand research, and their integration generates further challenges.

A fundamental open problem in robotic systems is the issue of self-contained localization. Especially difficult when considering small scale flying robots, the ability to determine one'...

Peter Ledochowitsch

Alumni
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2013

Daniel Cohen

Alumni
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Professor Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)
Professor Dorian Liepmann (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2013

Wireless Power Monitoring at Plugs and Panels

Michael Lorek
Kristofer S.J. Pister
Michel M. Maharbiz
Paul Wright
2015

In 2012, electricity generation was responsible for over 30% of carbon emissions in the US - surpassing the transportation sector - and predictions to 2040 show this trend continuing with current technologies. Electrical submetering provides improved spatial and temporal resolution into how buildings use their energy, and case studies have shown that improvements driven by submetering data can lead to 5-30% reductions in electrical energy usage. However, traditional building submetering technologies present unfavorable cost, installation, and form factor attributes that inhibit the...