News & Events

BSAC Seminar: Estimation of Dynamic Interfacial Forces in Mechanical and Vehicle Systems

February 17, 2015
Prof. Rajendra Singh Director, NSF I/UCRC Smart Vehicle Concepts Center, Ohio State University February 17, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: John Huggins

Direct measurement of dynamic forces is not practical in many real-life applications because the interfacial conditions may change. Thus indirect force estimation methods must be developed, though they pose special difficulty for nonlinear mechanical elements since the transfer path type methods are applicable only for linear systems. The first example considers the hydraulic engine mount as...

BSAC Seminar: Single Molecular-Level Association of Chemical Activity with Biomolecular Motion Using MEMS Devices

March 3, 2015
Prof. Hiroyuki Fujita Director, Center for International Research on Micronano Mechatronics (CIRMM), University of Tokyo March 3, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: Liwei Lin

MEMS fabrication and microactuators emerged in the late 1980’s. Today, these devices are applied to commercial products and to scientific tools for nano and bio technologies. This enables precise measurement of the mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties of nano/bio objects with simultaneous observation by optical or electron microscopy. Prof. Hiroyuki Fujita will...

BSAC Seminar: Minimally-Invasive Neural Interfaces: from Physical Implants to Virtual Implants

March 31, 2015
Dr. Maysam Chamanzar Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley BSAC Postdoctoral Researcher March 31, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: Kris Pister

It is an exciting time to be at the nexus of engineering and neuroscience! The development of new neurotechnologies will revolutionize our understanding of the brain function to mitigate nervous system disorders and also advance brain-machine interfaces (BMIs).
This seminar will discuss high-density hybrid parylene-silicon implantable probes for high-resolution...

BSAC Seminar: Energy Harvesting from Motion for Autonomous Devices

April 7, 2015
Prof. Eric Yeatman Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Professor of Microengineering, Deputy Head of Department, Imperial College London April 7, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: John Huggins

Driven by advances in microelectronics, sensors, and radio technology, highly miniature, low cost wireless devices are proliferating rapidly in a wide range of applications. This is enabling the distribution of sensing capability throughout urban and other environments, in the paradigm often known as pervasive sensing, as well as the enhancement of...

BSAC Seminar: From Technology Innovation to Business Success

April 21, 2015
Dr. Peter Hsi Director, Advanced Development, RAE Systems by Honeywell April 21, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: John Huggins

This presentation will introduce RAE systems as a successful technology startup company in Silicon Valley. How were we able to develop an innovative photoionization detection technology and build a successful business? The seminar will explain the principle of photoionization detection technology, the unique advantages in gas detection, the challenges and the opportunities. In conclusion, the...

BSAC Seminar: Cyber-Enabled Bionic Organisms for Environmental Sensing and Search-and-Rescue

April 14, 2015
Prof. Alper Bozkurt Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University April 14, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: Michel Maharbiz

Current technology falls short in offering autonomous mobile robots that can function effectively and efficiently under unknown and dynamic environmental conditions. However, insects and canines exhibit an unmatched ability to navigate a wide variety of environments and overcome obstacles by successfully maintaining control and stability. This talk will present how...

BSAC Seminar: Superlubricity-Activated Thinning of Graphite Flakes Compressed by Passivated Crystalline Silicon Substrates for Graphene Exfoliation

April 28, 2015
Prof. Hayden Taylor Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley April 28, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: Dorian Liepmann

There is increasing interest in using van der Waals solids (“2D materials”) to manufacture high-performance field-effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, sensors, and other devices. The creation of these structures involves the production or isolation of single- or few-atomic layers of the constituent material(s), followed either by adhesion to other 2D materials or by the vapor...

BSAC Seminar: Empower the Machines: From the Internet of Things to a Web of Systems

May 12, 2015
Florian Michahelles Head, Web of Things Research Team, Siemens, Berkeley May 12, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 540 Cory Hall Host: John Huggins

Connectivity has allowed the internet to grow from a network of computers to an Internet of Things (IOT). Physical items are no longer isolated units, but participants in a connected world. Also, industry is beginning to recognize the value of connected machines and material in order to (re-)design processes more effectively. The presentation will consider the challenges to be solved in order to bring the IOT to the shop floor. In...

BSAC Seminar: Carbon Nanotube Sensors

June 30, 2015
Dr. Christofer Hierold Chair, Micro and Nanosystems, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich June 30, 2015 | 12:30 to 01:30 | 531 Cory Hall Host: David Horsley

Carbon nanotubes exhibit a number of excellent mechanical and electronic properties as functional materials in sensors. In particular, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are known for their band gap modulation due to mechanical strain, or electronic property changes due to interaction with surrounding molecules, but also for their...

BSAC Seminar: Small, Soft, Safe Micro Actuators for Bio and Medical Applications

August 17, 2015
Prof. Satoshi Konishi Department of Micro System Technology, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan Micro Nano Mechatronics Laboratory August 17, 2015 | 02:00 to 03:00 | 540 Cory Hall Host: Liwei Lin

We have studied various pneumatic balloon actuators as typical examples of small, soft and safe micro-machines. Thin and soft structures can generate force of several hundred mN, or more, by pressure of several hundred kPa. Various bio and medical applications of the pneumatic balloon actuators as well as recent work on...