CAREER: Design Automation for Microfluidic Large Scale Integration Laboratories-on-a-Chip

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Emerging laboratory-on-a-chip technology enables automation and miniaturization of biochemical reactions for applications such as DNA sequencing, drug discovery, detection of influenza and other pathogens, biothreat detection, and water purification. Scientists presently must design new devices for each application by hand. This may take weeks or months for complex applications. This project will design and implement computer software that automatically converts a scientist's biological application into a physical device layout that can be fabricated. Successful completion of this project will enhance scientific productivity and lower the barrier-to-entry for new users. In terms of broader impact, laboratories-on-a-chip are expected to improve and reduce the cost of global healthcare, particularly through point-of-care testing. This project will reduce the design cost for laboratories-on-a-chip through productivity enhancements, and these savings can be passed directly to the consumer. At the University of California, Riverside, the PI will introduce undergraduate and graduate courses on laboratory-on-a-chip technology, which will be assessed by a qualified professional development officer. The PI will include women and underrepresented minority students in this project, and has a planned an outreach program with a collaborator at Crafton Hills College to promote computer science education to underrepresented minority high school students in the economically-disadvantaged Inland Empire region of Southern California.