Research
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Micro/Nano Engineering
The micro/nano engineering research group works on a wide spectrum of technological and scientific problems related to small-scale materials, devices, biological systems. The major research areas of the group include manufacturing, self-assembly, quantum mechanics simulation, and applications of nanomaterials; development of novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for microfluidics, data storage, micro-optics, bio-sensory, medical diagnosis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and energy harvesting; and fundamental studies of the single molecular level mechanics of DNA and protein molecules.
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Research Highlights
MEMS system integrating polymer actuators, microoptics and microfluidics for lab-on-chip applications (Nikos Chronis) 
New materials behavior model: from quantum mechanics to continuum mechanics (Vikram Gavini) 
CVD synthesis of carbon nanotube structures (John Hart) 
Self-assembled nanopillars in polymer film under electric field (Wei Lu) 
Nano-photonic MEMS device for lab-on-a-chip ultra-sensitive, high-speed optical spectroscopy (Katsuo Kurabayashi) 
Organic LED integrated with scanning probe cantilever for near-field optical microscopy used in biological imaging (Kevin Pipe) Researchers
BioMEMS, bio-imaging and neural networks
Micro/nanofluidics and BioMEMS/NEMS, ultra-sensitive single molecule biosensors; micro/nanosystems for engineering synthetic ex vivo stem cell microenvironments
Materials modeling using electronic structure (quantum-mechanically informed) theories
MEMS, wireless sensors, micro-machining
Nanostructured materials, micro/nano manufacturing
MEMS, thermal device engineering, biophotonics
Nanomechanics, advanced materials, nanostructure evolution
Bionanotechnology, cellular and molecular biomechanics
MEMS, micro-robotics, optimal and robust control
Thermoelectric devices, scanning probe microscopy, optoelectronics
Nanoscale charge and energy transport, thermoelectric devices