David Boyd , Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, graduate student James Adleman , Demitri Psaltis , Thomas G. Myers Professor of Electrical Engineering, and David Goodwin , Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics, have crafted the world's tiniest still to concentrate scant amounts of micromolecules for easier detection. This device may help to overcome difficulties in tracking extremely low-abundance molecular biomarkers, which can indicate disease.The still is a microfluidic chip, with a microns-wide channel, thinner than a hair,etched into silicone rubber and serving as the microplumbing for tiny volumes of fluid. But unlike typical microfluidic chips, the channel is sealed by a glass slide studded with gold nanoparticles. Into the channel is introduced a microbubble wide enough to form an air gap in the fluid. Energy from a laser no more powerful than an average laser pointer heats the gold particles, which quickly transfer the heat to the liquid on one side of the bubble, turning it to vapor. Read more... 04-09-08

View the latest Watson Lecture on line: In a talk entitled The Next-Generation Neural Implant: Let's Start with Retinal Implants , Professor Yu-Chong Tai discusses the technology of retinal implants and recent progress in their development.

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate student, Matthew Lew has received the "The Newport and Spectra-Physics Research Excellence Travel Award" at the SPIE Photonics West Conference, held January 23, 2008 in San Jose, CA. He won the award for his work on "Two-dimensional differential interference contrast microscopy based on four-hole variation of Young's interference" conducted in Changhuei Yang's Biophotonics Laboratory. This award is typically given to graduate students for outstanding research, Matthew Lew stands out in this year's batch of recipients as he is the only undergraduate to receive the prize.