The FlexEBio Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional science and engineering doctoral program for biodevice development in flexible electronics. Three core institutions (Cornell University, Binghamton University, and the University of Albany/Wadsworth Center) work with key partners in US academia (Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, Lincoln University), overseas(Cambridge University, Seoul National University, University of Melbourne) and in industry(DuPont, Endicott Interconnect, General Electric, Kodak, Rohm & Haas). The program links (a) research in fundamental physical and biological science; (b) training in innovation and team-based technology management; (c) curriculum development; and (d) extended internships at international partner laboratories and at commercial facilities. Program faculty will mentor student research in i) bioelectronic and bio-optic sensors; ii) the material-biology interface; and iii) flexible neural electronics. A coordinated course of study will cover topics related to nanobiotechnology, flexible electronics, ethics, and biophysical laboratory methods. These research experiences and courses will be the foundation for student-initiated Team Focus Projects aimed at designing and prototyping new breakthrough devices. Partnerships with minority-serving institutions will enhance the diversity of the program and provide avenues for doctoral research to students from underrepresented groups. The program will develop globally engaged scientists and engineers who have acquired the vision and motivation to apply their unique talents to advancing the emerging biodevice revolution. These student leaders will have impact on technological advances such as mechanically-compliant neural implants and wirelessly-controlled sensing and drug delivery. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The FlexEBio IGERT multicampus educational program has focused on training over 30 students expert in the application of flexible electronics to life science studies using new team based teaching strategies and by providing an international experience. Involving dozens of faculty the program combined the activities of Cornell University, Binghamton University and University at Albany, SUNY. The key accomplishment of the program has been to train a new generation of students in this rapidly developing area and to provide the country with a new generation of globally aware technology leaders. The discoveries of the trainees have pushed back the frontiers of bioelectronics research and will enable new industries to take root. IGERT Fellows carried out research along three major themes: (i) Bioelectronic and Bio-optical Sensors, (ii) the Materials-Biology Interface and (iii) Flexible Neural Electronics. In each of these research areas, mechanical flexibility enabled novel electronic devices and structures never before conceived for life science applications. These cutting edge research themes were instrumental in providing the FlexEBio Fellows with the cross-disciplinary education needed to train them as intellectual leaders at the interface between engineering, physical science and the life sciences. The accomplishments of the trainees were recognized by numerous awards given at national conferences over the course of the IGERT program. This program enabled for the first time, new joint curriculum development and the joint teaching of courses on all three campuses using video link technology on topics ranging from the teaching of Ethics In Technology to Biolectronic Technology Development. These courses, developed for the IGERT and now part of the teaching program at each campus, put the students into collaborative situations and offered them the opportunities to experience leadership situations, thereby fostering the kinds of joint research activities required in today’s industrial and academic environment. Student research exchanges took place with international labs as well as US industrial and academic facilities. Examples of international research exchanges included extended stays in laboratories in Australia, Greece, Germany and Switzerland and enabled rapid research developments in this critical research area. In addition to significant contributions to bettering scientific and engineering understanding of flexible electronics, the students also served the community by working with charities to provide community grants, helping teach after hour activities at the local elementary school and serving as an instructor at a local correctional facility. In summary, we believe that the FlexEBio IGERT surpassed the educational goals we set out at the beginning of the program and we are bery proud of what the trainees have accomplished.
