MEMS Research Group
Dep. of Mechanical Engineering 

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

Samuel Kinde Kassegne, PhD, PE


Associate Professsor of Mechanical Engineering &
Director of MEMS Research Lab, ME Dept., SDSU.

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, polymer photovoltaic technology, bio-nanoelectronics, and integrated micro- and nano-fabrication technologies. His experimental research work is focused primarily in Organic-MEMS, novel applications of microfluidics/nanofluidics and microarray technology, and new bio-nanoelectronics platforms. 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. He also has consulted for the following companies: Corning/Intellisense, SAIC, Nevada Nanotech, OxyHeal, ERC, OmniTech, KeyMark Engineering, Game Changers, Cooley LLP, and Nokia. Further, as evidenced by the breadth and depth of his publication records and the companies he has consulted for, Dr. Kassegne has a unique engineering background that spans a number of engineering disciplines.

Dr. Kassegne's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, DOE (through von Liebig Center) San Diego Foundation, CSUPERB, AlphaTec, and Amco (Korea). He has also taught MEMS & FEA courses at UCSD and UCI where he was a visiting scientist at his mentor's Marc Madou's Lab.


Our new Solar Fab & Class 100 Microfabrication Facilities.

Courses Taught

Theory of Machines & Mechanisms  

UCI

Finite Element Method   UCSD

MEMS Design (ME/EE 685)  

SDSU
MEMS Fundamentals (ME585) SDSU
MEMS Design (ME/EE 685)   SDSU
Mechanical &Thermal Systems Lab (ME 495) SDSU
ME 610- Finite Element Method SDSU

Research Sponsors

Research Collaborators
Dr. J. N. Reddy    - Texas A&M
Dr. Marc Madou - UC Irvine.
Dr. Finley Charney - Virginia Tech
Dr. Asrat Worku - AAU
Dr. Bibi Ephraim  - Cisco
Dr. Kyoung S Chun - U. of Seoul
Dr. Athonu Chaterjee  - Corning, NY
Dr. Kee Moon   - SDSU
Dr. Khaled Morsi - SDSU
Dr. Robert Pozos - SDSU (Bio)
Dr. Dalibor Hodko - Nanogen
Dr. Forest Rohwer - SDSU (Bio)
Dr. R. de Callafon - UCSD.

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

MEMS Lab News

MEMS Lab is part of $18.5 million NSF ERC on sensorimotor neural engineering. Our partner institutions are University of Washington and MIT. Dr. Kassegne is Thrust Leader.

Coverage by SDSU News Center
Coverage by San Diego Union Tribune

Shanel Miller, Beejal Mehta, Mihir Parikh, Mieko Hirabayashi, and Kadir Toksoy win a DOE-sponsored renewable energy fellowship.

Coverage by SDSU News
Coverage by VonLiebig Center - UCSD.

Coverage by Newspaper from Mexico & Latin America

[YouTube Video on Organic Solar Research] • [YouTube Video on OLED Research @ SDSU] • [YouTube Video on Organic Solar Coating System]

We are a research group in the mechanical engineering department of San Diego State University in southern California.  Our team includes mechanical, biomedical, chemical, electrical as well as materials engineers.  Our research areas include MEMS, micro- and nano-fabrication, bio-nanoelectronics, microfluidics/nanofluidics, polymer-based photovoltaic technology, emerging technologies in IMUs (applications in cell phone, navigation systems, and image stabilization), 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 extended class 100 cleanroom facility (1600 sq. ft.) is equipped for most lithography processes including metal depositions (RF sputtering), plasma etching, as well as characterizations including 0.25 micron resolution deep UV lithography capability with Micrascan III step and scan litho system. Our capabilities were further enhanced by acquisition of additional space as well as equipments in early 2011. In the new facility, a brand new organic solar processing, packaging and testing facility is in the process of being installed.

Current Group Members: Beejal Mehta, Andre Estrada, Mieko Hirabayashi, Nasim Vahid, Neal Steinberg (Physics), Mohammad Rayatparvar, Anson Hsu, Mihir Parikh, Chintan Patel, Neha Chowdhry, Abhishek Khatri, and Kadir Toksoy. Recent Alumni.
(I) Bio-Nanoelectronics Group
This group is investigating the feasibility and long-term stability of bio-nanoelectronics architecture based on our existing microarray platform. The architecture comprises of DNA molecular wires and interconnects attached to carbon/graphite microelectrodes. The boarder impact of this study is in developing nanoscale modulation of electrochemistry and electric-fields that will form basis for advancing our knowledge in large-scale bio-nanoelectronics as well as electrochemistry and electrostatics at a sub-micron-scale.

Recent achievments in this area will be discussed in an upcoming journal paper.

Researchers: Mieko Hirabayashi, Mohammad Rayatparvar, Neha Chowdhry, Nasim Vahidi, and Beejal Mehta.


(Ii) Polymer Solar Cell Group (link)
Using a hybrid bottom-up and top-down micro/nano fabrication approach, we are developing new generation of polymer-based solar cells and OLED with new electrode materials and architecture. The group also uses computational photovoltaics to develop new insights and fundamental understanding of interfacial issues between phtoactive layers and electrode materials.

Together with our collaborators, Dr. Kee Moon and Dr. Khaled Morsi, our work in this area has been patented and licensed to a company in South Korea.

Researchers: Mohammad Majzoub, Gunay Ozturk, Kadir Toksoy, Ashish Gaikwald, Mihir Parikh, Krishna Desai, and Shanel MIller.


(III) Nanofabrictaion Group
We are working on innovative hierarchical micro- and nano-fabrication technologies. One approach we are pursuing is IMN-litho (Integrated Micro/nano) lithography that shows promise in machining chips with both micro and nano features on the same substrate. Potential applications include bio-chips, sensors, microfluidic chips, and microarrays with a hierarchy of feature sizes starting from nanometer-level to sub-micron, micron and sub-mm interface to the outside world.

Collaborators: Dr. Moon and Morsi @ SDSU.


(IV) Computational Group
We have very active research in (i) computational electrochemsitry for micro- and nano-electrochemical systems, and (ii) computational photovoltaics to drive our experimental work in organic PV technology.

Our work in electrochemistry of micro- and sub-micron systems (microarrays, DNA/Microfluidic chips) has resulted in a number of publications. Results include the first hybridization model in electronically active microarrays and models for effect of protonation of buffers in promoting DNA hybridization in a narrow pH window.

Researchers: Neha Chowdhry, Bhuvnesh Arya, Neeraj Yadav.


(V) 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. In a collaborative work with Dr. Palacios' group at Math Department, we are looking at coupling of gyros and accelerometers for better performance, particularly a reduction in phase drift.

Researcher: Andre Estrada

Collaborator: Dr. Antonio Palacios, Math. Dept., SDSU.



Dr. Sam Kassegne & Dr. Moon's Groups Joint MEMS Meeting. New 150W 1.5AM Solar Simulator with IV System (Newport).


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Copyright SK 2011.