Co-advisor: Dr. Angela Stelson, S-parameters calibration lead.

Commercial acoustic spectroscopy is stuck below 300 MHz, which limits our understanding of materials. For communications technology, the lack of acoustic data limits the design of acoustic filter technology. For pharmaceuticals and chemical manfucaturers, there are important relaxation processes that we cannot measure with off the shelf instrumentation. This NRC fellowship will explore the emerging field of acoustofluidics and its possible applications on acoustic absorption spectroscopy, acoustic-electric spectroscopy, and other nonlinear materials characterization techniques. We will develop on-wafer acoustic microfluidic devices. Necessary skills include finite element simulations, digital signal processing, fabrication, materials characterization, ultrasound physics, and fabrication. Qualified candidates will have some of these skills and be willing to learn.

N.Orloff, J. Booth, et al., " Manipulating particle trajectories with phase-control in surface acoustic wave microfluidics "Biomicrofluidics. 2011 Dec; 5(4): 044107–044107-9. doi: 10.1063/1.3661129