Group Leader

Shekhar Bhansali, Ph.D.

Professor

Dr. Shekhar Bhansali is Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering (1997) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. His interests are in the areas of Bio-MEMS, sensors, nanostructures and microsystems. He is the recipient of NSF CAREER Award, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Ourstanding Mentor Award, FGLSAMP Outstanding Mentor Award, FEF Outstanding Mentor Award and USF Outstanding Researcher Award. He holds 11 patents in the area of biosensors, nanostructures and microsystem technologies, has co-authored over 170 journal and conference publications and is editor of the book "MEMS for biomedical Applications", to be released in Fall 2011.

email: bhansali@eng.usf.edu

Mr. Bernard Batson is the co-ordinator for NSF-IGERT Graduate Program, Bridges to the Doctorate Program and Sloan Minority Fellowship Program.

email: bbatson@eng.usf.edu

Post Graduate Students

Subramaniam Krishnan, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Subramanian Krishnan received his B.E. degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the University of Madras, India (2000), M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering/Microelectronics from the University of South Florida, Tampa in 2004 and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida, Tampa (2008). He is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of South Florida. His primary interests are in the development of thin film tunnel junctions and Rectenna for thermal energy conversion, Nanowire synthesis and nanoparticles based gas sensors. His research focus is in the areas of micro/nanofabrication, materials science and thin film sensors.

email: skrishn4@mail.usf.edu

Sunil Kumar Arya, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Fellow

Sunil Kumar Arya received his B.Sc. (Chemistry; 2002), M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry; 2004) and PhD (Chemistry-Biosensor; 2008) from University of Delhi. He has published about 28 papers in international journals. He has Post Doc research experience on Bacteriophage based bacterial detection at National Institute of Nanotechnology and university of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. At present, he is working as a Post Doc fellow on micro fabrication and MEMS based electrochemical biosensor for biomarker (Cortisol, PSA etc) detection at University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.

email: sunilarya@usf.edu

Graduate Students

Al-Aakhir Rogers

Ph.D. Candidate

Al-Aakhir A. Rogers is a doctoral student in electrical engineering at the University of South Florida (USF).  He received both his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC.   At USF, Al-Aakhir’s research is focusing upon the invention, design, fabrication, and optimization of Optical MEMS sensors or MOEMS, and Optoelectronics. As a doctoral student, Mr. Rogers has been recognized with several honors, including an Alfred P. Sloan Minority Ph.D. Fellow, Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship, a NSF East Asia Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) Fellowship.  As an NSF EAPSI fellow, he completed an internship at the Instrument Technology Research Center (ITRC), National Applied Research Laboratories in Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.  

email: aaroger4@mail.usf.edu

Dorielle Tucker-Price

Ph.D. Candidate

Dorielle Tucker Price is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering. She graduated summa cum laude with her B.S. from Clark Atlanta University (2005) and earned her M.S. from USF(2007) in Electrical Engineering. She is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship programs. Her research focuses on detecting and characterizing cancer cells using impedance-based techniques and understanding the behavior and response of cells to internal/environmental changes. The outcome of this work will provide a foundation for enhanced 3-dimensional tumor analysis and characterization; thus creating an avenue for earlier cancer detection and reduced healthcare costs. She has several peer-reviewed journal and conference publications, including one obtained from her 2009 internship with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, under the advisement of Dr. Frances Ligler.

email: dorielle@mail.usf.edu

Frank Alexander

Ph.D. Student

Frank Alexander is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at USF.  He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering (Cum Laude) from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA in May 2009.  As an undergraduate, he participated in undergraduate research programs at Southern University, the University of Kentucky, and the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as a summer internship with Delphi Electronics and safety in Kokomo, IN.  Frank has also completed an internship at Time-Medical in Shanghai, CN while being sponsored by the NSF International Research and Education in Engineering Program.  Frank is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship, GEM Fellowship, and NSF IREE Award.  His research interests are applying MEMS technology to produce novel advancements in medical treatment and diagnostics.

email: faalexan@mail.usf.edu

Michael Celestin

Ph.D. Student

Michael Celestin is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the University of South Florida. Michael received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of South Florida in 2006.  He continued to complete a Masters in Chemical Engineering also from the University of South Florida in 2008.  Currently, Michael is researching application and characterization of organic, self-assembled monolayers for use in tunnel junctions in a rectenna application.  Michael is the recipient of an NSF Technical Internship Award in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories. 

email: mcelesti@mail.usf.edu

Justin Boone

Ph.D. Student

Justin Boone earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern University A&M College of Engineering (May 2005). He is currently pursuing his Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida.As a graduate student at the University of South Florida, Mr. Boone was awarded a NSF Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship. This past summer, he participated in a research internship at Shanghai Jiatong University in Shanghai, China.  His project focused on the Evaluation and performance of film PV cell and the possibility to improve the efficiency of film PV by a MEMS rectenna

email: jboone4@mail.usf.edu

Abhishek Dey

Ph.D. Student

Abhishek Dey is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at the University of South Florida. He received his B.E. degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, India. His research focus is in the development of miniaturised ion trap mass spectrometers.

email: abhishek@mail.usf.edu

Eric Huey

Ph.D. Student

Eric Huey received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa where his research focus is in the field of micro/nanosensors and materials science. Eric is a recipient of a NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship, and The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Fellowship (GEM).

email: ehuey@mail.usf.edu

Kevin Luongo

Ph.D. Student

emurphy2@mail.usf.edu>,

Kevin Luongo is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering in the Bio-MEMS and Microsystems laboratory research group at USF. Kevin earned an  MSEE in microelectronics from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF),Tampa (2008) based on his research on Pd enhanced nanoporous silicon for hydrogen sensing. He became a Draper Lab Fellow in 2009 where he is investigating impedance spectroscopy for cancer drug discovery. His interests are in the areas of MEMS, nanosciences and Biointerface. 

email: k.luongo@gmail.com

Eduardo Murphy Pérez

Ph.D. Student

Eduardo Murphy Pérez is a PhD student in electrical engineering in the BioMEMS area. Eduardo received his B.E. degree in Mechatronics at the Lasalle University in Morelos México, he has a Masters in Electronics from the CIICAp also in Morelos, his current research at the University of South Florida,  deals with the development of biosensors using SiOx Nanowires.

. email: emurphy2@mail.usf.edu

Rudran Ratnadurai

Ph.D. Student

Rudran is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Solar Thermal Energy at USF. He has a Masters in Material Science from Anna University in India. His research pertains to the harnesing of IR radiation for energy using MIM tunneling devices.

. email: rratnadu@mail.usf.edu

Abhay Vasudev

Ph.D. Student

Abhay Vasudev is a Ph.D student in Biomedical Engineering at the Bio-MEMS & Microsystems Laboratory Research Group at USF. Abhay received his M.S degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Akron, OH in 2009. His research interests are in the area of micro-nano fluidics for medical applications and point of care diagnostics.

email: vasudev@mail.usf.edu

Undergraduate Students

Hayde is a senior pursuing a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida. She is expected to graduate in Summer 2011. Her research interests include microfluidics (lab-on-a-chip) and microneedle fabrication.

email: hsilva@mail.usf.edu

Past Members

Sheila Jean

Sheila Jean received her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida in Spring 2011.  She has recently joined the Progress Energy in North Carolina.

email: sjean5@mail.usf.edu

Howard Bailey

Ph.D. Student

email: habailey@mail.usf.edu

Puneet Khanna, Ph.D.

Puneet Khanna received his MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida in 2004 and his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering in 2008. His research interests included microfluidics (lab-on-a-chip), microneedle fabrication and Bio-MEMS application of nanocrystalline diamond. Dr. Khanna is currently working for Globalfoundries based near N.Y.C.

email: pkhanna@mail.usf.edu

Supriya Ketkar

Supriya Ketkar has a Masters degree (M.Sc.) in Electronic Science from the University of Pune, Pune, India. She worked at Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), India for 3 years on the development of Photoimageable Thick Films in Electronic Packaging. She is currently working with Dr. Shekhar Bhansali towards her Ph.D. in MEMS. Her current research interests include MEMS, Pressure transducers, Packaging challenges in Harsh Environment and Microfluidics.

email: sketkar@mail.usf.edu

Ke Sun

Ke Sun is currently pursuing his Ph.D in BioMEMS and Microsystem lab in Electrical Engineering at University of South Florida. His research interests include gold interactions with Si, gold affect on Si nanostructures, gold nanoparticles and their applications in physical, chemical, as well as biosensors.

email: ksun@mail.usf.edu

Anne Shearrow

Anne Shearrow received her B.S. degree in Chemistry in 2003 at the University of Central Florida (Magna Cum Laude). And her Ph.D degree in Chemistry at the University of South Florida in 2007. Her research focus is on an integrated microchip- based electrochromatography (µ-EC) system utilizing the attributes of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sol-gel technology.

email: ashearro@mail.usf.edu

Sangchae Kim, Ph.D.

Sangchae Kim received the Ph.D. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from KAIST, S. Korea, in 2000. From 2000 to 2004, he researched MEMS devices as a research staff member at Samsung Electronics. In 2004, he joined in MEMS group, University of South Florida. His interested research areas include MEMS design and modeling, fabrication technologies, optical switches, piezo inkjet print heads, RF resonators and filters, MEMS coolers, and biochips. He is currently an engineer of RF Micro Devices.

email: sckim@eng.usf.edu

Sheetal Patil, Ph.D.

Dr Sheetal Patil received her Ph.D. (2004) in Electronics Science from University of Pune, Pune, India. She worked as Senior Research Fellow in Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-Bombay), Mumbai, India. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow of Department of Mechanicall Engineering at University of Maryland, Washington D.C.

email: sheetal@eng.usf.edu 

Niranjan Ramgir, Ph.D.

Niranjan completed his PhD (Nanoscience and Nanotechnology) in 2006, from the Physical and Materials Chemistry Division, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India.  He has a vast experience in synthesis (both chemical and physical methods) and characterization of semiconducting oxide and metallic nanostructures for specific applications towards gas sensing and field emission. Presently, he is working in the field of electrochemical bio-sensors. More specifically, on the detection of ovarian and lung cancer cells (biomarkers) using Nano/Bio-MEMS, microfluidics and Electrochemistry. He received the Humboldt fellowship for post doctoral researchers in 2008.

email: nramgir@eng.usf.edu

Rakesh K. Joshi, Ph.D.

Rakesh K. Joshi received his Ph.D. degree in Physics from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, in 2004, on semiconductor nanoparticles and p-n junctions. Soon after the PhD he moved to the University of Duisburg, Germany for Postdoctoral Research on Gas Sensors at the institute for nanostructure and technology. He studied various aspects of surface science and nanotechnology at Nano High Tech Research Center of Toyota Technological Institute Nagoya, Japan. Currently, he is working at BioMems Laboratory of the University of South Florida for studying chemical and biological sensors in Nanodimensions. His main research interests are on Band Gap Engineering, Nanoparticle Films, Carbon Nanotubes, and Sensor technology.

email: joshi@eng.usf.edu

Senthil Sambandam, Ph.D.

Dr. Senthil Sambandam is currently a process engineer of SuperPower Inc. in Schenectady, NY.

email: ssambandam@superpower-inc.com

Vedvyas Mangasuli, Ph.D.

Dr. V. Mangasuli is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow of Dept of Electrical Engineering at Universita' di Pisa, Italy.

email: N/A

Praveen Kumar Sekhar

Ph.D. Student

Praveen Kumar Sekhar received BE in electrical and electronics engineering with distinction from Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India (2001), MSEE in microelectronics from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF),Tampa (2005) and currently pursuing his doctoral studies specializing in micro/nanosensors at USF, Tampa, FL. His interests are in the areas of smart materials and their processing with emphasis on MEMS related applications.

email: psekhar@mail.usf.edu

Shyam Aravamudhan, Ph.D.

Shyam Aravamudhan received his BE degree in electrical and electronics engineering from University of Madras, India and MS in electrical engineering from University of South Florida (USF), Tampa, FL in 2003. He finished his PhD in 2007, and is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology.

email: saravamu@mail.usf.edu

Abdur Rub Abdur Rehman, Ph.D.

Abdur R.A. Rehman is currently a Post-Doctroal Fellow of Department of Electrical Engineering at Clemson University.

email: aabdurra@eng.usf.edu

Rahul Agarwal, Ph.D.

Rahul Agarwal received his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in Dec. 2003 at USF and finished his PhD in 2007. His areas of interests are in designing and fabrication and packaging of MEMS devices. He is currently working for IMEC at Belgium.

email: agarwalr@imec.be

Marcus Marley, M.S.

email: mmarley@mail.usf.edu

Altagrace Sine, M.S.

Altagrace Sine received her B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in December 2005 at the University of South Florida. She is currently enrolled as a graduate student at USF where her current focus of studies is in porous Silicon-based gas sensors. She hopes to complete her M.S.E.E. in 2007. Her current research interests include Porous-silicon and nanowires based gas sensors.

emai: asine@mail.usf.edu

Karthik Sriram Lakshmi Narasimhan, M.S.

email: klakshmi@mail.usf.edu

Geetha Vuppala, M.S.

Geetha received her B.E. degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Osmania University, India in June 2006. Presently she is pursuing her doctoral studies specializing in BioMEMS at USF. Her research interests reside in the areas of Bioimpedance characterization of cell cultures using Microelectrodes. Geetha has been a recipient of the MEMS fellowship award since January 2007.

email: gvuppala@mail.usf.edu
 

Carl Adams

Master Student

Carl Adams received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in August 2007 at the University of South Florida. His current research intrests are growth of Silicon nanowires, thin films, bio-sensors, and microfluidics. Worked for three years as Lab Manager for the Bio-MEMS and Microsystems Lab for Dr. Bhansali while studying for his Undergraduate. Designed and built a custom vacuum tube furnace and worked with other students building a sputtering system. Spent six years in the US Navy as a missle and gun fire controls technition.

email: carlxa@yahoo.com

Pengzhi Cheng

M.S. Student

Pengzhi Cheng received his BS degree in Materials Science and  Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology in 2007. He has studied in Microfludics and Biosensor fields. Now his research is focused on Electrochemical biosensors for DNA detection.

email: pcheng3@mail.usf.edu

Joe Register

Undergraduate Student

email: jjr@tampabay.rr.com

Joe Johns 

Undergraduate Student

email: borderline128@gmail.com

Angela Aker (REU)

email: N/A

Ryan Alkire (REU)

email: N/A

Clarice Richardson (REU)

email: N/A

Juan Jackson (REU)

email: N/A

Mark Oliver (RET)

email: N/A

Jessica Weiss (RET)

email: N/A