November 16, 2007

Colloquium Topic: Bionanotechnology and Mechanoevolution

If bionanotechnology is to live up to its promises, it must begin to solve real-world problems. This requires bridges from the molecular and nanoscale to the cellular, tissue and organism scales. Examples of advances in this arena from our laboratory at Drexel University include 1) the use of a nanomanipulator to fabricate prototypical nanofluidics devices for single-cell and single-organelle probing, 2) a method for sorting blood cells on a chip, 3) evaluating the effects of mechanical deformation on electron transport in individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and 4) the construction of a highly parallel, highly compliant microbeam array for measuring forces in cell arrays. The talk will conclude with a brief introduction to a concept we call mechanoevolution, wherein the growing symbiotic relationship between man and machine is discussed.

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Colloquium Speaker: Bradley Layton

Bradley Layton is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2003, and completed two post-doctoral fellowships in neurology and in radiology. Dr. Layton holds a BS in mechanical engineering from MIT and an MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan. Prior to graduate school Dr. Layton designed and built titanium bicycle frames and Kevlar wakeless boats, developed software for the BMDO, evaluated properties of lunar soil for the DOE and NASA, inspected radioactive containment buildings at the Savannah River Site, and designed equipment for Northrop Grumman and the USEPA.