MSAL Research Shines at the Hilton Head Workshop 2024 at its 40th Anniversary

From June 2–6, the Transducer Research Foundation (TRF) marked the 40th anniversary of its flagship event, the Hilton Head Workshop. Officially known as the “Workshop on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators, and Microsystems,” it has been held in Hilton Head, S.C., every two years since its inception in 1984. The prestigious research-oriented agenda gives the international MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical) and Microsystems community a place to gather and discuss the Grand Challenges and societal impact of MEMS devices, technologies and systems.

Currently led by President Reza Ghodssi (ECE/ISR/Fischell Institute), the sponsoring organization TRF is dedicated to promoting research related to transducers, microsystems, and nanosystems. The Hilton Head Workshop brings together students and experts from academia, industry and government, with a particular emphasis on students. Because they are the future of the microsystems industry, the workshop encourages them to participate through training, mentoring, networking, and exchanging ideas.

University of Maryland participants

UMD faculty participating in the workshop were Pamela Abshire (ECE/ISR), Kevin Daniels (ECE), Ryan Sochol (ME), and Reza Ghodssi (ECE/ISR). Ghodssi’s MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab (MSAL)—now celebrating its 25th year—gave four oral presentations and showed four posters at this very competitive workshop.

University of Maryland award winners

University of Maryland students won four awards; two were from Ryan Sochol’s group and two were from Reza Ghodssi’s MSAL Lab. View a list of all the 2024 award winners on the Hilton Head Workshop website. The UMD MSAL winners are:

(Janusz Bryzek Abundance through MEMS Award—student award) This award honors Janusz Bryzek, a pioneering and prolific MEMS entrepreneur who started 11 companies and was committed to the vision of Abundance. It recognizes emerging undergraduate and graduate researchers in MEMS and related fields whose work significantly contributes to the vision of Abundance. Abundance refers to a future in which—due to rapid developments in exponential technologies including MEMS—all of humanity has access to clean water, food, energy, health care, housing, education and everything needed to live an abundant, fulfilling life. Flexible Microinjector for Rapid Localized Drug Delivery from Ingestible Devices. Joshua Levy, MSAL Lab, University of Maryland.

(Outstanding Paper Award) Ingestible Device for Noise-Resilient Bioimpedance Monitoring in Gastrointestinal Tract. Brian M. Holt1, Justin M. Stine1, Luke A. Beardslee1, Jay Pasricha2, and Reza Ghodssi.1 1University of Maryland, USA and 2Mayo Clinic, USA.

More information can be found on UMD ECE News. (12 - June / 2024)