Plenary Talk: 

Bringing MEMS Ultrasonic Sensors to Market: One Perspective on Commercializing MEMS Research

David A. Horsley received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1998. He is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Davis, and an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is co-director of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC). He is also co-founder and CTO of Chirp Microsystems Inc. (a TDK Group Company), a manufacturer of ultrasonic sensors using MEMS technology. Dr. Horsley was Co-Chair of the 2016 IEEE Sensors Conference, Co-Chair of the 2017 Transducers Research Foundation Napa Microsystems Workshop, and Co-Chair of the 2020 IEEE MEMS Conference. Dr. Horsley is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, the UC Davis Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, the 2016 NSF I/UCRC Association’s Schwarzkopf Award for Technological Innovation, and the 2018 East Bay Innovation Award. He has authored or co-authored over 150 scientific papers and holds over 22 patents.

Ronald G. Polcawich is a Program Manager at DARPA in the Microsystems Technology Office and currently on detail to DARPA from the Micro & Nano Materials & Devices Branch of US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Adelphi, MD.  He received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (1997), and M.S. degree in Materials from Penn State University (1999), and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State University (2007).  While at DARPA, Dr. Polcawich is leading research projects in advanced materials processing combined with micromechanics for small scale robotics and developing new materials processes, device designs, and integration approaches required to push inertial and aiding sensor performance for enabling trusted, heterogeneous position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems.  He is currently leading the Precise on Precise Robust Inertial Guidance for Munitions (PRIGM) program, the SHort-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms (SHRIMP) program, and TUnable FErroelectric Nitride (TUFEN) programs along with several active Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs in the area of piezoelectric MEMS and dielectric elastomers. 

Dr. Benjamin Griffin joined DARPA in October 2018 as a program manager in the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO). Prior to joining DARPA, Dr. Griffin was a principal member of technical staff in the MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies department at Sandia National Laboratories. At Sandia, he led research programs in the area of MEMS sensors, actuators, and resonators with a focus on aluminum nitride (AlN)-based piezoelectric devices and next-generation piezoelectric materials. Preceding his position at Sandia, Dr. Griffin spent more than two years with the Interdisciplinary Consulting Corporation, developing sensing technologies for aerospace applications. Dr. Griffin received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering, and his Doctorate of Philosophy degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida.

Roy (Troy) H. Olsson III is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include materials, devices, and architectures for low-power processing of wireless, sensor, and biological signals. Prior to joining Penn, Troy was a Program Manager in the DARPA Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), where he led multiple programs in the areas of low energy sensing and communications.  From 2004 to 2014, Troy was a Principal Electronics Engineer in the MEMS Technologies Department at Sandia National Laboratories where he established research efforts in piezoelectric microdevices for processing of RF and inertial signals.  He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2004.  His graduate research was in the areas of low-power electronics and sensor arrays for interfacing with the central nervous systems.  Troy has authored more than 100 technical journal and conference papers and holds 36 patents in the areas of microelectronics and microsystems.  He was awarded an R&D100 award in 2011 for his work on Microresonator Filters and Frequency References, was named the 2017 DARPA program manager of the year, and was the recipient of the NSF CAREER award in 2019.

Prof. Lal obtained his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Caltech in 1990. He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. He conducted his doctoral research at the Berkeley Sensors and Actuators Center in the area of ultrasonic MEMS. After working at University of Wisconsin-Madison as an assistant professor, he is now a professor at Cornell University, in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds more than 30 patents and has published more than 190 research papers in the area of microsystem engineering. He has served as a Program Manager at DARPA in the Microsystems Technology Office, from 2005-2009. At DARPA he managed ten and started six new programs in the area of navigation, low-energy computation, bio-robotics, and atomic microsystems. He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, and the Whitaker Foundation Award. With his students he has won several best paper awards at the IEEE Ultrasonics and Frequency Control Symposium, and IEEE NEMS conferences. He is also a recipient of the Department of Defense Exceptional Service Award, and a Best Program Manager Award for his work at DARPA.

In addition to School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Prof. Lal is a field member of Biomedical Engineering,  Applied Engineering Physics, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Departments. He is a member of Cornell CCMR, NBTC, and KAUST-CU Centers.