2017 Microsystems Annual Research Conference

February 17, 2017

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Each year, the student-led Microsystems Annual Research Conference (MARC) highlights the research achievements of students, postdocs and staff who use MTL's facilities and design tools in their varied nanotechnology and nanosystems research projects. MTL's signature conference not only celebrates these accomplishments, but also lays the groundwork for technical interactions and collaborations leading to the next generation of innovation.

MARC2017 was held on January 31- February 1, 2017 at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. In attendance this year were approximately 200 students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and industry partners, including more than 20 Microsystem Industrial Group (MIG) company guests and 29 student / postdoc organizers. There were 100 posters and 9 featured talks, including an evening panel discussion and a morning keynote speaker.

The program began on Wednesday, January 31st, with a reception followed by a dinner banquet. Opening remarks were given by MARC2017 co-chairs Ujwal Radhakrishna and Xiaowei Cai, and by MTL Director Jesús del Alamo. After dinner, attendees enjoyed a lively panel discussion among MTL alumni about their early career choices, entitled The MTL Launchpad: Perspectives from Alumni in Academia, Startups, and Industry. The panelists and moderator were:

  • Vivienne Sze; Assistant Professor, MIT
  • James Teherani; Assistant Professor, Columbia University
  • Melissa Smith; Technical Staff, Lincoln Laboratory
  • Joyce Wu; System Engineer, Analog Garage
  • Louis Perna; Founder & Lead Mechanical Engineer, Accion Systems
  • Moderator: Phillip Nadeau, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT

The morning keynote, "The Future will be Measured in Nanometers," was given by Associate Dean of Innovation Vladimir Bulović (MIT). A new innovation of MARC2017 (requested by MTL students and MARC2016 organizers), members of the MTL Industrial Group (MIG) gave two-minute pitches on research initiatives of their respective companies. The morning program continued with two technical sessions, in which presenters gave 60-second overviews of their research, showcased in more detail on their posters. The subsequent poster session was packed, with numerous lively and interactive conversations among presenters and attendees.

Following a networking luncheon, featuring tables hosted by representatives from the companies that belong to the Microsystems Industrial Group, six speakers were selected by the students organizing MARC2017-- from among the 105 abstract submissions received--to give 15-minute presentations of their research in a special session at the conference. The speakers, shown with Sam Fuller (Analog Devices; shown third from left) were:

  • Xin Zhao, "III-V Vertical Nanowire Transistors for Ultra-Low Power Applications"
  • Jorg Scholvin, "Microfabrication-Based Technologies for Large-Scale Recording of Neural Activity in the Brain"
  • David Zhitormisky, "Conformal Electroplating of Azobenzene-Based Solar Thermal Fuels onto Large Area & Fiber Geometries"
  • Mohamed Radwan Abdelhamid, "Ultra Low-Power, High-Sensitivity Secure Wake-Up Transceiver for the Internet of Things"
  • Alvin Tan, "Direct-write Assembly of Colloidal Materials"
  • Ren-Jye Shiue (not pictured), "Self-Aligned Local Electrolyte Gating of 2D Materials with Nanoscale Resolution"

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Towards the end of the conference, awards were given for the best pitches, featured talks, and to thank the student committee members for their work in delivering a stellar conference experience for all. MARC2017 concluded with remarks and thanks from MTL director, Prof. Jesús del Alamo.

We hope that MARC2017 has renewed the energy of the MTL community, and we look forward to gathering once again at MARC2018!

MARC2017 60-Second Poster Pitch Winners

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Left to right: Maher Damak, Yi Song, Priyanka Reina, Wenjie Lu, Paul Emerson (Texas Instruments), Han Zhu, Preet Garcha, Marek Hempel, Shireen Warnock, Sirma Orguc.

Poster Hunt Winners

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Left to right with Jesús del Alamo (far left): Piran Kidambi, Wei Sun Leong, Preet Garcha.

View the entire Flickr gallery of the event.