U.S.-JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship: Bi-directional Traveling-wave Micropump Driven by Piezoelectric Actuators

0455119Loverich该奖项为Jacob Loverich博士提供为期18个月的日本科学促进会（JSPS）短期博士后奖学金。他将与日本京都大学的Hidetoshi Kotera教授合作。他们将研究一种由压电驱动器驱动的双向行波微泵。在新兴的生物纳米技术领域，了解生命的基本组成部分和维持生命的纳米级蛋白质正变得越来越重要。微流体系统可以执行纳米级蛋白质分析是推进这些生物纳米技术研究工作的主要工具。其中一种微流体系统，即所谓的微全分析系统（uTAS），已经开始成为纳米级细胞生物学、神经生物学、药理学和组织工程学发现的驱动力。因此，开发一般的微流体系统（更具体地说，改进这种系统的中心驱动元件微泵）正在产生重大的研究兴趣。该项目将涉及研究和开发一种新的uTAS微型泵。新型微泵将采用一种新型行波泵技术，该技术可能比现有的微泵设计更简单、更通用、更紧凑。该项目的主要目标是将行波微泵的概念小型化到可以处理单细胞操作的规模，简化设计，使设备的生产成本不会限制其适用性，并提高泵的流速比目前的微泵设计。该研究项目的范围将包括新型微泵设计的制造、实验评估和模型仿真。这个项目将为两个在纳米技术领域都处于领先地位的国家之间的合作提供一个很好的机会。通过思想和技术的交流，该项目将扩大我们的基础知识基础，促进国际了解与合作。研究结果将在科学会议和科学期刊上传播。

0455119LoverichThis award supports an eighteen month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Short-Term Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Jacob Loverich. He will be collaborating with Professor Hidetoshi Kotera at Kyoto University in Japan. They will be undertaking research on a bi-directional traveling-wave micropump driven by piezoelectric actuators. Understanding the fundamental building blocks of life, and the nano-scale proteins that sustain it, is becoming increasingly important in the emerging field of bionanotechnology. Micro-fluidic systems that can perform nano-scale protein analyses are primary tools for advancing these bio-nanotechnology research efforts. One such micro-fluidic system, the so-called Micro Total Analysis System (uTAS), is already beginning to serve as a driving force for discovery in nano-scale cell biology, neurobiology, pharmacology, and tissue engineering. Therefore, developing micro-fluidic systems in general (and, more specifically, improving such systems' central driving element, the micropump) is generating significant research interest. The project will involve the research and development of a new uTAS micropump. The new micropump will use a novel traveling-wave pumping technique that is potentially more simple, versatile, and compact than existing micropump designs. The primary objectives of this project are to miniaturize the traveling-wave micropump concept to a scale that can handle single-cell manipulations, simplify the design so that the production cost of the device will not limit its applicability, and improve the flow velocity of the pump over current micropump designs. The scope of the research project will encompass fabrication, experimental evaluation, and model simulation of the new micropump design.This project will offer a good opportunity to join efforts between two countries that are both leaders in the nanotechnology area. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. Results of the research will be disseminated at scientific meetings and in scientific journals.