Research in the DMS Laboratory
Introduction
Sensors & Systems Research
Our Sensors Research focuses primarily on chemical and biological sensing, with
an emphasis on creative systems design to facilitate applications that have remained
inaccessible via conventional sensing paradigms. A great deal of research effort
has been allocated to the development and optimization of sensor coatings to capture
an analyte or target compound of interest. The coating, however, is just one (albeit)
critical piece of the system design. The sensor coating (or functionalization) of
a sensor platform) ensures that a target compound or molecule (= analyte) binds
to an immobilized platform. Once immobilized or bound, the binding information must
be transduced; our research focuses on integrating
systems that use surface plasmon resonance; fluorescence analysis (in the
optical arena); and conductive and electrochemical means (in the non-optical arena).
We pursue paradigms of sensing and systems integration techniques that draw on olfactory
models, hierarchical networks, pattern recognition, and other signal processing
frameworks that enable chemical and biological sensors, despite their imperfections,
to meet often stringent target application requirements in
food and water safety monitoring and other areas relevant to protecting
the health and well being of humans and the environment.
Organic Devices, Circuits, & Systems Research
Organic materials have seen a surge in research and development in recent years
because of their amenability to key applications in photonics and in integrated
display design. As substitutes for the dominant transistor, the MOSFET, organic
materials used in transistors (OFETs) are often compared to silicon and amorphous
silicon based primarily on mobility (and therefore speed). A wide range of applications
that require integrated circuit solutions, however, do not require ultra-high speeds
of operation. In display operation, circuit speeds can remain at sub-MHz and still
meet minimum frame rate requirements for high resolution displays. In niche areas,
such as MEMs high voltage driver applications, organic devices offer unique potential
to decrease cost and improve manufacturing flexibility. In order to identify appropriate
applications for Organic materials, effective circuit simulation models are a necessity.
This area of our research focuses on the development of such models and their demonstration
in MEMs support circuit and display driver applications.
Engineering Education Research
Engineering Education Research has, almost without exception, emphasized cognitive
outcomes and associated interventions. Our research effort focuses on non-cognitive
influences: the importance of belonging
at local (classroom, conference) and global (home institution, high tech workforce)
among engineers at various levels (undergraduate, graduate, faculty), locus of control,
and other related affective measures in determining whether students remain in engineering,
and if they do, how positive they feel about it. The stereotype of engineering being
a tortuous, overworked undergraduate major must change before it becomes more attractive
to a wide range of students. To this end, our research contributes to the larger
body of engineering education and educational psychology literature by looking specifically
at the topics of affective & metacognitive outcomes, social instruction strategies,
and the integration of professional development into the curriculum. This research
is supported by the National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory
Improvement (CCLI) program; additional information, resources, and tools developed
by and associated with this program can be found by clicking
here.
