2011-2012 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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electron-beam lithography and various
etching techniques. This effort will seek
to optimize the fabrication, readout,
and sensitivity of these devices for
numerous applications, such as sensitive
detection of mass, charge, and magnetic
resonance. (Hone, Wong, Modi)
In the area of nanoscale imaging in
biology, a superresolution microscopy
(nanoscopy) system is built to break
the diffraction limit of light. The
superresolution microscopy system is to
be used to observe molecular dynamics
in living cells. A high-speed scanning
system is designed and implemented
to track molecular dynamics in a video
rate. Control of sample motion in
nanometer resolution is achieved by
integrating single photon detection and
nanopositioning systems. (Liao)
Research in the area of optical
nanotechnology focuses on devices
smaller than the wavelength of light,
for example, in photonic crystal
nanomaterials and NEMS devices.
A strong research group with
facilities in optical (including ultrafast)
characterization, device nanofabrication,
and full numerical intensive simulations
is available. Current efforts include
silicon nanophotonics, quantum
dot interactions, negative refraction,
dramatically enhanced nonlinearities,
and integrated optics. This effort seeks
to advance our understanding of
nanoscale optical physics, enabled now
by our ability to manufacture, design,
and engineer precise subwavelength
nanostructures, with derived
applications in high-sensitivity sensors,
high-bandwidth data communications,
and biomolecular sciences. Major
ongoing collaborations across national
laboratories, industrial research centers,
and multiuniversities support this
research. (Wong)
Research in the area of
microtribology—the study of
friction, lubrication, and wear at the
microscale—analyzes the surface
contact and adhesive forces between
translating and rotating surfaces in
MEMS devices. Additionally, the
tribological behavior between sliding
micro- and nano-textured surfaces is
also of interest, due to the prospects
of enhanced lubrication and reduced
friction. (Terrell)
Research in BioMEMS aims to
design and create MEMS and micro/
nanofluidic systems to control the
motion and measure the dynamic
behavior of biomolecules in solution.
Current efforts involve modeling and
understanding the physics of micro/
nanofluidic devices and systems,
exploiting polymer structures to
enable micro/nanofluidic manipulation,
and integrating MEMS sensors with
microfluidics for measuring physical
properties of biomolecules. (Lin)
Biological Engineering and
Biotechnology. Active areas of research
in the musculoskeletal biomechanics
laboratory include theoretical and
experimental analysis of articular
cartilage mechanics; theoretical and
experimental analysis of cartilage
lubrication, cartilage tissue engineering,
and bioreactor design; growth and
remodeling of biological tissues; cell
mechanics; and mixture theory for
biological tissues with experiments and
computational analysis (Ateshian).
The Hone group is involved in a
number of projects that employ the
tools of micro- and nanofabrication
toward the study of biological
systems. With collaborators in biology
and applied physics, the group has
developed techniques to fabricate
metal patterns on the molecular scale
(below 10 nanometers) and attach
biomolecules to create biofunctionalized
nanoarrays. The group is currently
using these arrays to study molecular
recognition, cell spreading, and protein
crystallization. Professor Hone is a co-PI
of the NIH-funded Nanotechnology
Center for Mechanics in Regenerative
Medicine, which seeks to understand
and modify at the nanoscale force- and
geometry-sensing pathways in health
and disease. The Hone group fabricates
many of the tools used by the center to
measure and apply force on a cellular
level. (Hone)
In the area of molecular
bioengineering, proteins are engineered
to understand their mechanical effects
on stem cell differentiation. Molecular
motors are designed and engineered
computationally and experimentally
to identify key structural elements of
motor functions. Fluorescent labels
are added to the molecules of interest
to follow their dynamics in living cells
and to correlate their mechanical
characteristics with the process of stem
cell differentiation. (Liao)
Microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) are being exploited to enable
and facilitate the characterization and
manipulation of biomolecules. MEMS
technology allows biomolecules to
be studied in well-controlled micro/
nanoenvironments of miniaturized,
integrated devices, and may enable
novel biomedical investigations not
attainable by conventional techniques.
The research interests center on the
development of MEMS devices and
systems for label-free manipulation
and interrogation of biomolecules.
Current research efforts primarily involve
microfluidic devices that exploit specific
and reversible, stimulus-dependent
binding between biomolecules and
receptor molecules to enable selective
purification, concentration, and
label-free detection of nucleic acid,
protein, and small molecule analytes;
miniaturized instruments for label-free
characterization of thermodynamic
and other physical properties of
biomolecules; and subcutaneously
implantable MEMS affinity biosensors for
continuous monitoring of glucose and
other metabolites. (Lin)
Mass radiological triage is critical
after a large-scale radiological event
because of the need to identify
those individuals who will benefit
from medical intervention as soon as
possible. The goal of the ongoing NIHfunded
research project is to design
a prototype of a fully automated, ultra
high throughput biodosimetry. This
prototype is supposed to accommodate
multiple assay preparation protocols
that allow the determination of the
levels of radiation exposure that a
patient received. The input to this fully
autonomous system is a large number
of capillaries filled with blood of patients
collected using finger sticks. These
capillaries are processed by the system
to distill the micronucleus assay in
lymphocytes, with all the assays being
carried out in situ in multi-well plates.
The research effort on this project
involves the automation system design
and integration including hierarchical
control algorithms, design and control
of custom built robotic devices, and
automated image acquisition and
engineering 2011–2012