Prof. John Rogers - Depts. of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Medicine; Northwestern University

Abstract: A remarkable feature of modern integrated circuit technology is its ability to operate in a stable fashion, with almost perfect reliability, without physical or chemical change. Recently developed classes of electronic materials create an opportunity to engineer the opposite outcome, in the form of ‘transient’ devices that dissolve, disintegrate or otherwise disappear at triggered times or with controlled rates. Water-soluble transient electronics serve as the foundations for interesting applications in zero-impact environmental monitors, 'green' consumer electronics and bio-resorbable biomedical implants. This presentation describes the foundational concepts in chemistry, materials science and assembly processes for bioresorbable electronics in 1D, 2D and 3D architectures. Wireless sensors of intracranial temperature, pressure and electrophysiology designed for use in treatment of traumatic brain injury and nerve stimulators configured for accelerated neuroregeneration provide application examples.

Bio: John A. Rogers is the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Northwestern University, with affiliate appointments in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chemistry, where he is also Director of the newly endowed Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics. He has published more than 650 papers, is a co-inventor on more than 100 patents and he has co-founded several successful technology companies. His research has been recognized by many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), the Lemelson-MIT Prize (2011), and the Smithsonian Award for American Ingenuity in the Physical Sciences (2013) – and most recently the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute (2019). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Invited by Graduates in Nanotechnology (GIN) student organization. For information on GIN contact the NNCI Director of Education and Outreach, Quinn Spadola: quinn.spadola@ien.gatech.edu