Professor Sarah Swisher at ECE Fall 2023 Colloquium
Flexible and Printed Bioelectronic Sensors
Flexible and printed electronics are ideally suited for sensing applications that require conformable and easily-customizable circuits. In this talk, I will briefly introduce the materials and fabrication processes that enable flexible electronics, and the potential benefits for applications in medical research and health care. I will discuss two applications from our recent work that use flexible bioelectronic sensing arrays: (1) chronic multimodal neural interface devices using transparent, inkjet-printed electrocorticography (ECoG) arrays, and (2) wearable skin sensor patches for real-time, continuous monitoring of chemical biomarkers. To expand the capabilities of such flexible sensors, our group is also developing strategies to incorporate flexible transistors into otherwise passive sensor devices. In that area, I will present our recent progress combining solution-processed oxide semiconductors with novel photonic processing techniques to produce flexible transistors.
Speaker bio
Sarah Swisher is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Her current research sits at the intersection of semiconductor device physics, materials science, and bioengineering. She leverages the benefits of flexible electronics to enable advancements in biological sensors and medical devices. Her research approach is collaborative and multidisciplinary, with ties to the Center for Neuroengineering, the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, and the Translational Center for Resuscitative Trauma Care. Her recent awards include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Intel Foundation Robert Noyce Memorial Fellowship in Microelectronics, and the Russell J. Penrose Excellence in Teaching Award.
Established in 2009, the Eleanore Hale Wilson Fund supports engineering field leaders for travel to Minnesota to share their expertise and discoveries with University of Minnesota graduate students, faculty, and alumni. The Fund also supports the reception held in honor of each speaker.