Marc Madou, Ph.D.

Marc Madou, Ph.D.

Chancellor's Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Biomedical Engineering

University of California, Irvine

Speech Title:

Carbon: The Next Silicon?

Abstract:

Although silicon, human's foremost technological material, is abundant in silicate minerals, carbon is the key to life. It can be argued that carbon, especially with the recent (somewhat frantic) research efforts on CNTs and graphene, is also becoming a more and more important material in human technology. Neither single crystalline nor poly-crystalline Si encompass that wide a range of shapes and microstructures. Much has been made of the myriad of applications of just two of the currently most popular carbon allotropes i.e., carbon nano tubes (CNTs) and graphene. Here we promote the idea that C-MEMS/C- NEMS could eventually, depending on the manufacturing process, incorporate all of the carbon allotropes. In this more holistic view of a world with carbon as the most important technological material one tailors one allotrope or a combination of allotropes to suit each application. Some recent example C-MEMS/C- NEMS applications include electrochemical sensors, substrate for molecular electronics, batteries, fuel cells, dielectrophoresis electrodes, capacitors, scaffolds, nanoconstrictions, hot nanowires for local CVD, molds for bulk metallic glasses and gas sensors.

Bio:

Before joining UCI as the Chancellor’s Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MEA), Dr. Madou was Vice President of Advanced Technology at Nanogen in San Diego, California. He specializes in the application of miniaturization technology to chemical and biological problems (BIO-MEMS). He is the author of several books in this burgeoning field he helped pioneer both in Academia and in Industry. He founded several micromachining companies and has been on the board of many more.
Many of his colleagues became well know in their own right in academia and through successful MEMS start-ups. Madou was the founder of the SRI International’s Microsensor Department, founder and President of Teknekron Sensor Development Corporation (TSDC), Visiting Miller Professor at UC Berkeley and Endowed Chair at the Ohio State University (Professor in Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering). The third edition of “Fundamentals of Microfabrication,” an introduction to MEMS and NEMS, which has become known as the “bible” of micromachining (http://fundamentalsofmicrofabrication.wordpress.com/).
Some of Dr. Madou’s current research work involves a compact disc-based fluidic platform and carbon MEMS, the two latter fields were pioneered by Dr. Madou. To find out more about those recent research projects, visit www.biomems.net.