Axel Scherer

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Name: Kathryn (Kate) Finigan

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Bernard Neches Professor of Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics and Physics; Merkin Institute Professor

B.S., New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 1981; M.S., 1982; Ph.D., 1985. Associate Professor, Caltech, 1993-95; Professor, 1995-2000; Neches Professor, 2000-; Merkin Institute Professor, 2021-; Director, Kavli Nanoscience Institute, 2006-08; Co-Director, Kavli Nanoscience Institute, 2008-11.

Research interests: silicon photonics for agile optical data communications systems with 100Gb/s bandwidth, sample to answer point of care diagnostic tools for rapid and fully automated disease detection, implantable wireless health monitors, wireless resistivity, temperature and pressure probes for oilfield environments, nanostructure fabrication below 10nm and bandgap engineered structures in silicon, plasmonic sensing of biomolecules, miniaturization of vacuum tube technology, optical strain gauges

Overview

Utilizing semiconductor batch-fabrication and device nanofabrication, Prof. Scherer's group have integrated optical, magnetic and fluidic devices with electronics. In the 1990s, Professor Scherer's group pioneered silicon photonics for data and telecommunications, and presently his group focuses on integrated disease diagnostic devices. The goal of this effort is to develop inexpensive tools that can instantly identify a strain of influenza or other common diseases for less than $5 and enable rapid point-of-care diagnosis. In addition, Professor Scherer's group is working on miniaturized continuous glucose monitors that enable accurate measurement of body glucose levels over an extended period as wireless implants.