News & Events

BSAC Seminar: Micro (and Nano) Mechanical Signal Processors

October 6, 2009
Prof. Sunil Bhave Cornell University October 6, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: John Huggins

With quality factors (Q) often-exceeding 10,000, vibrating micromechanical resonators have emerged as leading candidates for on-chip versions of high-Q resonators used in wireless communications systems. However, as in the case for transistors, extending the frequency of MEMS resonators generally entails scaling of resonator dimensions. Unfortunately, smaller size often coincides with lower-power handling capability and increased...

BSAC Seminar: Hybrid MEMS-Magnetoresistive Devices for Ultra-Low Magnetic Field and Resonance Detection

October 20, 2009
Dr. Andre Guedes BSAC Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Davis October 20, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 521 Cory Hall, Hogan Room Host: David Horsley

Highly sensitive magnetoresistive (MR) sensors were integrated together with MEMS resonators to achieve two important goals: to improve the magnetoresistive sensor static field sensitivity down to the picoTesla range, and to provide on-chip magnetic detection of resonance in MEMS. This MR-MEMS hybrid device enhances the static magnetic field sensitivity of the MR sensor through the cancellation of its 1/f noise. By using high...

BSAC Seminar: Ultra-High Data Density MEMS Memory Device

October 13, 2009
Dr. John Heck Intel Research October 13, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: John Huggins

Intel and Nanochip have jointly developed a probe storage device employing a high lateral displacement mover with a non-volatile media film that is addressed by an array of actuated probe tips. The storage media is a ferroelectric film grown directly on the silicon mover which is actuated electromagnetically. The probe tips are formed on poly-SiGe MEMS cantilevers that are integrated directly on standard CMOS. The cantilever/probe array and...

BSAC Seminar: SBIR/STTR Program - Descriptions, Opportunities and Insights

October 27, 2009
Dr. Josephine Yuen Program Director SBIR/STTR, National Science Foundation October 27, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: John Huggins

The SBIR/STTR Program, authorized by Congress in 1982, supports technology research and development in small businesses. This seminar will describe the focus of the program at the National Science Foundation. It will include the purpose of the program, its structure, and the support available to small companies when they become grantees. Two solicitations that opened this fall will also be...

BSAC Seminar: Research Program for the 20-year Future of MEMS

November 3, 2009
Junji Adachi Sr. VP, Bio Electro-mechanical Autonomous Nano Systems November 3, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: John Huggins

Japanese industry has completed two phases, or generations, of MEMS technology research corresponding to single function devices, and recently concluded a 3-year national program (FINE MEMS) exploring the rich domains of multifunctional devices that are only now making their way to volume production. This talk will describe a new national MEMS research program with an expected 20-year impact. In order to...

BSAC Seminar: Microplatforms for Cell Biomechanics Studies

November 17, 2009
Prof. Bill Tang Biomedical Engineering, UC Irvine BSAC PhD 1990 November 17, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: Luke Lee

Cytoskeletons provide the mechanical properties of a cell and support the cell body with intricate connections to the extra-cellular matrix through focal adhesion complexes on the cell membrane. Recent research in cell biology has established that these mechanical structures play important roles in healthy cell functions such as growth, proliferation, migration, differentiation and embryogenesis, as well as...

BSAC Seminar: Membrane Biology and Hemoglobinpathies

November 24, 2009
Dr. Frans Kuypers Senior Scientist, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute November 24, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: Al Pisano

Hemoglobinopathies affect millions of people on this planet. Abnormal hemoglobin results in membrane changes, alterations in cellular characteristics, and a very heterogeneous red cell population that determines the vasculopathy typical for these diseases. Sickle cell anemia was identified as the first molecular disease 60 years ago. While all patients share the same simple point mutation in...

BSAC Seminar: Electronic Profiling of Biomolecules

December 8, 2009
Dr. Madoo Varma & Dr. Xing Su Director & Lead Scientist, Integrated Biosystems Research, Intel Labs December 8, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: John Huggins

Profiling a biological sample is a powerful way to understand the physiological condition or the disease stage of a patient. However, biological samples are typically complex in terms of composition and molecular sequence. Optically-scanned biochips containing probe arrays have been shown to be useful tools for molecular profiling, such as in gene expression and SNP...

BSAC Seminar: Novel Tools for Single Cell Analysis: Flow-Lysosomal and SiCMA

December 15, 2009
Dr. Won Chul Lee Postdoctoral Fellow, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute BSAC PhD 2008 December 15, 2009 | 12:00 to 01:00 | 540 Cory Hall, DOP Center Conference Room Host: Al Pisano

We present two new approaches, flow-lysometry and Single Cell Micro-chamber Array (SiCMA), to analyze single cells in large cell populations. Conventional flow cytometry or automated microscopy allows the measurement of cell surface markers, but options to characterize cytosolic components inside individual cells are limited. Both new techniques disrupt the membranes of...

BSAC Seminar: Guided Self-Assembly & Artificial Structural Colors for Smart Scalable Systems

December 16, 2009
Prof. Sunghoon Kwon Seoul National University, Korea December 16, 2009 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 521 Cory Hall, Hogan Room Host: N/A

There are two different fabrication methods for building complex micro devices: top-down and bottom-up. The top-down approach, based on conventional photolithography, has given us amazing CMOS manufacturing capabilities but it's facing a fundamental limit in its downward scalability. Recently, various bottom-up manufacturing technologies have gained notice for their ability to overcome limits of top-down manufacturing. Breakthroughs will...