Events Calendar

Integrated Systems Seminar Series

Speaker: Prof. Donhee Ham, Harvard University

Talk Title: Solid-state and Biological Systems Interface

Abstract: The complexity, programmability, small size, and low cost of solid-state devices in direct contact with living organisms or their in vitro or ex vivo subsystems can open up new exciting vistas in biology and biotechnology. In this talk, I would like to review some recent developments along this direction, especially, some past and on-going works in my own research group at Harvard. These will include spin-resonance based radio-frequency (RF) biomolecular sensors, and a variety of silicon + electrochemistry interfaces aimed at analyzing proteins, DNA, and population cellular dynamics for personalized medicine, genetics, and neurotechnology.

Biography: Donhee Ham, from Busan, South Korea, and a 2011, 2012, and 2013 Harvard Yearbook Favorite Professor, is Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and EE at Harvard University. He earned a B.S. degree in physics from Seoul National University where he graduated summa cum laude with the Presidential Prize, ranked top 1st across the College of Natural Sciences, and also with the Physics Gold Medal (sole winner). Following a 1.5 years of mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Army, he went to Caltech for graduate training in physics. There he worked on general relativity and gravitational astrophysics under Professor Barry Barish, and later obtained a Ph.D. in EE winning the Charles Wilts Prize awarded for the best thesis in EE. His doctoral work examined the statistical physics of electrical circuits. He was the recipient of the IBM Doctoral Fellowship, Li Ming Scholarship, IBM Faculty Partnership Award, IBM Research Design Challenge Award, the KFAS fellowship,the Hoopes prize (/w William Andress), and the recognition by MIT Technology Review as among the world's top 35 young innovators in 2008 (TR35). Ham was one of 8 Harvard Thinks Big speakers in 2012 (8 Harvard faculty chosen by college-wide votes). He is an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. Donhee Ham's work experiences include Caltech-MIT Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), IBM T. J. Watson Research, Consulting Visiting Professorship at POSTECH, IEEE conference technical program committees, advisory board, or associated/guest editorships in, for example, the IEEE ISSCC, IEEE ASSCC, IEEE ISCAS, IEEE T-Biocas, and IEEE JSSC, and various US, Korea, and Japan industry, government, & academic technical advisory positions. The current intellectual focus efforts of his group are in: 1) solid-state and biological systems interface; 2) nanoscale and/or low-dimensional plasmonics, spintronics, and quantum devices; 3) analog, RF/microwave, and mixed-signal integrated circuits.

Host: Prof. Hossein Hashemi and Prof. Mike Chen

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Hossein Hashemi