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, 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 and integrated micro- and nano-fabrication technologies. His experimental research work is focused primarily in Organic-MEMS, developing novel applications of microfluidics/nanofluidics and microarray technology in areas such as DNA/Protein chips, 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, OxyHeal, and Nokia. He has also taught MEMS & FEA courses at UCSD and UCI.

Our new Class 100 Microfabrication Facility.

Courses Taught

Spring 03 Theory of Machines and Mechanisms  

UCI

Fall 03 Finite Elements Principles and Practices   UCSD

Spring 04

MEMS Design and Applications (ME/EE 685)  

SDSU
Fal 05- now EM 585 - Fundamental of MEMS SDSU
Spring 06-now 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 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. Raymond de Callafon - UCSD.

 

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.

 

Research Groups

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.  General research areas include Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), micro and nanofabrication, microfluidics/nanofluidics, microarrays and DNA/Protein chips, 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 including 0.25 micron resolution deep UV lithography capability with Micrascan III step and scan litho system.

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

(I) Microfluidics Group

Research in this area encompasses FEA/CFD simulation of flows, electrokinetic 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

MHD micropump with bubble isolation & release system Bao 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) Polymer Solar Cell Group (link)

Using a hybrid bottom-up and top-down micro/nano fabrication approach, we are developing (i) fundamental understanding of interfacial issues and (ii) a new generation of polymer-based solar cells with new electrode materials and architecture.

Researchers: Mohammad Majzoub, Gunay Ozturk, Mihir Parikh, Krishna Desai, and Chintan Patel.

(V) 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 chips 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 MEMS Engineer at Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, San Jose, CA.
  4. Lei Zhou - MS Thesis (ECE) - 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 (Bioengg) - Defended in May 2007. Currently at Abbott Labs near San Diego.
  7. Bao Nguyen - MS Thesis (Bioengg) - Defended in Dec 2007. Currently at Arrayomics in San Diego.
  8. Saravana Pitchaikani - MEng - Defended in Dec 2007. Currently R&D Engineer - San Diego, CA.
  9. Phoebe Shin - MS Thesis - Defended in Jan 2008. Currently at AutoSplice.
  10. Berhanu Kebede Wondimu - MS Thesis - Defended in Nov 2008. Currently MEMS R&D Engineer at Flowserve - Southern California.
  11. Mike Frank - MS Thesis (Bioengg) - Defended in Feb 2009. Currently in Japan.
  12. Amandeep Singh -MS Thesis - Defended in March 2009. Currently at CSSE, San Diego, CA.

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

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

Copyright SK 2009.