A project led by MTL director Vladimir Bulovic was one of ten research projects named as Fall 2011 grant recipients from the Desphande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT. The center announced that it will award $668,000 in grants to ten MIT research teams currently working on early-stage technologies. The projects have the potential to make a significant impact on the global quality of life by revolutionizing materials, diagnostics, medical procedures, diabetes treatment, vision correction, high power electronics, solar energy efficiency, and software support.
The Deshpande Center, acting as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship, awards grants that fund proof-of-concept explorations and validation for emerging technologies. "We continue to be impressed by the creativity and ingenuity of our grantees," said Leon Sandler, the center's executive director. "Their technologies could have a significant impact in health care, energy, materials and design."
The Bulovic team project, "MEMS for Large Area and Flexible Applications," is led by Vladimir Bulovic with Trisha Andrew, Apoorva Murarka, Sarah Paydavosi, and Annie Wang. This project involves "[a] flexible paper thin, micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) array that can be used for sensing and actuation over large surfaces." The Deshpande Center website states the project goals to "develop flexible, paper-thin multi-sensor arrays of unconventional MEMS [that] will enable economical full field sensing or actuation over an entire surface, leading to new applications in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and energy markets." This project is a renewal of an award first given in 2009 and renewed in 2010.