Advanced Energy Systems and Microdevices Laboratory

The Advanced Energy Systems and Microdevices Laboratory is dedicated to research on new energy systems and nanomaterials and microdevices for disease detection and diagnosis for biomedical applications. The lab’s energy research is focused on the non-platinum group of metal (non-PGM) catalysts to replace PGM catalysts for electrochemical-energy systems such as fuel cells and batteries, and industrial applications such as filtering systems and petroleum-processing systems. Principal research includes synthesizing and characterizing innovative high-performance new non-PGM catalysts from carbon materials such as graphene, and understanding the fundamental mechanisms of the reaction. The lab’s microdevices research concentrates on applying micro- and nanotechnology to diagnose complex diseases like cancers at their early stages using a nano-biochip. The biochip incorporates microchannels with a self-driven flow of biofluid and nanocircuits to sense the existence and severity of a disease with high sensitivity and selectivity.