School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
March/April 2010

Light-force research

The research of electrical engineering assistant professor Hong Tang has been chosen as one of the “100 Top Stories of 2009” by Discover magazine. In its January 2010 issue, Discover highlights Tang’s research group’s demonstration of the attractive and repulsive force of light. While researchers have long theorized the existence of such optical force, Tang’s group is the first to demonstrate it in silicon devices, opening the door to a whole new class of semiconductor devices run on light rather than electricity. Tang was a 2009 recipient of the prestigious Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering. (For a Yale Alumni Magazine report on Tang’s research, see “The Power of Light.”)

Nanosensors can measure cancer biomarkers in blood

A team of researchers led by professors Mark Reed and Tarek Fahmy has demonstrated the first use of nanosensors to measure cancer biomarkers in whole blood—a breakthrough that could dramatically simplify the way physicians test for biomarkers of cancer and other diseases. (For a Yale Alumni Magazine report, see “A Better Cancer Trap.”) Due to the complicated composition of blood, which includes proteins, ions, and other constituents that affect detection, current measurements are both labor- and time-intensive—taking several days to process. This new technology acts as a filter, catching the biomarkers on a chip while washing away the rest of the blood and producing results—measurements equivalent to detecting the concentration of a single grain of salt dissolved in a large swimming pool—within minutes. While researchers developed their technology to target biomarkers for prostate and breast cancer, the device could be used to test for a wide range of biomarkers, from cancer to cardiovascular disease, simultaneously. “The advantage of this technology,” says Reed, “is that it takes the same effort to make a million devices as it does to make just one.”

The spokeless bicycle

This year’s mechanical engineering seniors successfully designed, fabricated, and demonstrated a spokeless bicycle as part of their course in mechanical design. “While there have been many concepts for the spokeless bicycle, none has gone into production, which made this a perfect challenge for our class,” said Henry Misas ’10. While the spokeless bike offers no real mechanical advantage over the traditional design, students point out that sometimes aesthetics are more important. This is one of many student mechanical design projects, which over recent years have included a hybrid SAE formula race car, a model airplane, and energy harvesting projects, among others. For most mechanical engineering seniors the mechanical design course is a much-anticipated culmination of three years of primarily theoretical study. “It’s an amazing feeling to design and fabricate an innovative product,” says Misas.