MEMS Research Group
Department of Mechanical Engineering 
College of Engineering
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182
E-mail: samk|at|digitaladdis|dot|com
kassegne|at|mail|dot|sdsu|dot|edu
Tel: (760)-402-7162

Samuel Kinde Kassegne, PhD, PE

Assistant Professor, MEMS Research Lab, ME Dept., SDSU.
 
 

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General Introduction

Dr. Sam Kassegne holds a Ph.D. degree in engineering mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research interests are in the areas of MEMS and integrated micro- and nano-fabrication technologies. His experimental research work is focused primarily in developing novel applications of microfluidics/nanofluidics and microarray technology in areas such as DNA/Protein chips, hand-held point-of-care diagnostic systems, as well as polymer photovoltaic technology. His lab has a strong focus on developing the next generation of integrated micro- and nano-lithography technology for a variety of application areas. Other focus areas include MEMS-based IMUs. Dr. Kassegne has an extensive industrial experience in MEMS, biotech and computational sciences acquired through his employment at Nanogen, Microfabrica and Bentley Systems in Southern California as well as consultancy work for Corning, SAIC, Nevada Nanotech, and Nokia. He has also taught courses at UCSD and UCI.

Our new Class 100 cleanroom facility

Courses Taught

Spring 03

Theory of Machines and Mechanisms  

UCI

Fall 03

Finite Elements Principles and Practices  

UCSD

Spring 04, 06, 08

MEMS Design and Applications (ME/EE 685)  

SDSU
Fall 05, 06,07 EM 585 - Fundamental of MEMS SDSU
Spring 06 MEMS Design and Applications (ME/EE 685)   SDSU
Spring 06-now Mechanical &Thermal Systems Lab (ME 495) SDSU
Spring 07 ME 610- Finite Element Method SDSU

Research Sponsors

Research Groups

We are a research group in the mechanical engineering department at San Diego State University in southern California.  Our team includes mechanical, bio/biomedical, chemical, electrical as well as materials engineers.  General research areas include micro and nanofabrication, microfluidics/nanofluidics, Microarrays and DNA/Protein chips, Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) emerging technologies in IMUs (applications in cell phone, navigation systems, and image stabilization), polymer-based photovoltaic technology, and computational sciences (modeling multi-physics and reaction engineering in life sciences and electrochemical systems). Our group collaborates with researchers at our institution and other national MEMS programs (including the various academic and industrial groups that spun-off the core Nanogen technology). We also have an active international program involving seminars and joint research. Our new class 100 cleanroom facility (400 sq. ft.) is equipped for most lithography processes as well as some characterizations.

Current Group Members: Bao Nguyen, Berhanu Wondimu, Saravana Pitchaikani, Phoebe Shin, Neeraj Yadav, Bhuvnesh Arya, Nithesh Paramesh, Nitin Hardwood, Mike Frank, Amandeep Singh, and Sai Chand Inala. (Alumin: Lei Zhou, Zaid Karim, Vaibhav Patel, Steven Wong, Alex Teeter, and Sahil Patel).

(I) Microfluidics Group

Research in this area encompasses FEA/CFD simulation of flows, electrokinetic and other body forces, and localized phenomena (such as Joule heating, surface tension, etc) within micron and nano-scale channels.  Simulations are utilized for experimental validations.  Applications for such development include miniaturized biological assay transport, selective charged-particle separation, and systems of reduced volumes for pathogen detection.

Current active research also include new magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) micropump designs with bubble-isolating micro-channels and high-efficiency stacked 3D centrigugal micropumps. Both experimental and theoretical/simulation research is pursued.

Researchers: Bao Nguyen, Saravana Pitchaikani, Nitin, Nithesh, and Vaibhav Patel (currently at Qualcomm MEMS Technologies).

BIRS (Bubble Isolation & Release System) MHD micropump. B. Nguyen.

(II) BioChip Group

DNA/Protein chips (microarrays)

Coupled with our research in microfluidics, these projects include strides towards Sample-to-Answer technologies.  Utilizing the innate charge of DNA and the electrical polarizability of other biomolecules, our group is making strides towards improved separation techniques requiring minimal reagent volume.

3D Manipulation/Separation

We have developed several designs for selective manipulation of colloids and individual particles in 3D.  Dimensional extension of such manipulations has many applications ranging from molecular diagnostic and pathogen detection systems to nano-assembly. We are currently working on some specific aspects of 3D carbon microelectrode array for biochips (courtesy of collaboration with Marc Madou's group @ UCI).

Researchers: Phoebe Shin, Namratha Tata, Vinot Vijayaraghavan.

(III) IMU Group (Accelero & Gyro)

We are working on novel tunable 2-axis and 3-axis MEMS accelerometers & gyroscopes. An ongoing research project has a wide application in cell phones, gaming, energy harvesting, and image stabilization.

Researchers: Amandeep Singh and Berhanu Wondimu.


(IV) Nanofabrication Group

We are working on innovative hierarchical micro and nanofabrication technologies. One approach we are pursuing is IMN-litho (Integrated Micro/nano) lithography that shows promise in machining biochips with both micro and nano features.

Collaborators: Dr. Moon and Morsi @ SDSU.

News/People

Recent Graduates (06-Present)

  1. Alex Teeter - MS Thesis - Defended in March 06. Currently at Gen-Probe - San Diego.
  2. Sahil Patel - MEng - Defended in July 06.
  3. Vaibhav Patel - MS Thesis - Defended in March 07. Currently at Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, San Jose, CA.
  4. Lei Zhou - MS Thesis (EE) - Defended in December 06.
  5. Zaid Karim - MS Thesis (double thesis) - Defended in December 06. Currently at NAVAIR - San Diego.
  6. Steven Wong - MS Thesis (Bioengineering) - Defended in May 2007. Currently at Guidant (Abbott Labs) near San Diego.
  7. Bao Nguyen - MS Thesis (Bioengineering) - Defended in Dec 2007. Currently at Arrayomics in San Diego.
  8. Saravana Pitchaikani - MEng - Defended in Dec 2007.
  9. Phoebe Shin - MS Thesis - Defended in Jan 2008. Currently at AutoSplice.

Misc.

Research Collaborators

  

Dr. J. N. Reddy    - Texas A&M University
Dr. Marc Madou - Univ. of Calif. - Irvine.
Dr. Finley Charney - Virginia Tech.
Dr. Asrat Worku - Addis Ababa University
Dr. Bibi Ephraim  - CISCO, Santa Clara, CA.
Dr. Kyoung S Chun - Univ. of Seoul, S. Korea.
Dr. Athonu Chaterjee  - Corning, NY.
Dr. Kee Moon   - SDSU
Dr. Khaled Morsi   - SDSU
Dr. Robert Pozos - SDSU (Biology)
Dr. Dalibor Hodko - Nanogen
Dr. Forest Rohwer - SDSU (Microbiology)

Dr. Sam Kassegne & Dr. Kee Moon's Groups Joint MEMS Weekly Meeting.

New Research Students: Our group is always looking for motivated, bright, and hard-working students. If you are a new student and have research interest in some of the broad research areas we pursue, stop-by and talk to us or e-mail us.

[Publications] [Download FE Pgms] [FEA Projects] [Q&A-Computational Mechanics] [Conferences]

Copyright SK 1999-2008.