Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems Award Committee

Professional Membership: Life Fellow of IEEE

Biography: Kurt Petersen received his BS degree cum laude in EE from UC Berkeley in 1970. In 1975, he received a PhD in EE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Petersen established a micromachining research group at IBM from 1975 to 1982, during which he wrote the review paper “Silicon as a Mechanical Material,” published in the IEEE Proceedings (May 1982). This paper is still the most frequently referenced work in the field of micromachining and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Since 1982, Dr. Petersen has co-founded six successful companies in MEMS technology, Transensory Devices Inc. in 1982, NovaSensor in 1985 (now owned by GE), Cepheid in 1996 (now a public company on NASDAQ: CPHD), SiTime in 2004 (still private), Profusa in 2008 (still private), and Verreon in 2009 (acquired by Qualcomm). In 2011, Dr. Petersen joined the Band of Angels in Silicon Valley. The Band is an angel investment group which mentors and invests in early stage, high-tech, start-up companies. Today, he spends most of his time helping and mentoring such companies. Dr. Petersen has published over 100 papers, and has been granted over 35 patents in the field of MEMS. In 2001 he was awarded the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for his contributions to MEMS. Dr. Petersen is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is a Fellow of the IEEE in recognition of his contributions to “the commercialization of MEMS technology”.

Research Areas: Functional nanomaterials in MEMS and NEMS (e.g. carbon nanotube sensors, ultra low power sensors), Polymer microsystems (e.g. magnetic polymers, biodegradable polymers), Advanced MEMS (e.g. micro thermoelectric generators, large deflection actuators by polymer springs in MEMS), Fabrication technology (integration of functional nanomaterials on larger areas)

Professional Memberships: IEEE/EDS

Biography: Christofer Hierold has been Professor of Micro and Nanosystems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) since April 2002. Further, he is Executive Coordinator ETH Zurich of the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center (BRNC) at Ruschlikon. Before he joined ETH Zurich in 2002 he was with Siemens AG, Corporate Research, and Infineon Technologies AG in Germany. In 1990 he graduated from Technical University Munich (TUM) with a Dr.-Ing. Degree in Engineering Sciences.

Christofer Hierold is Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the EUROSENSORS conference, and a member of the Steering Committees of both MEMS and TRANSDUCERS. He served as General Co-Chair of MEMS 2009, and is Program Chair of TRANSDUCERS 2013. Professor Hierold is a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW).

Research Areas: Integrated micromechanical signal processors and integrated sensors, merged circuit/micromechanical technologies, RF communications, integrated circuit design and technology, short- and long-term stability in micromechanical devices

Professional Memberships: IEEE/EDS, IEEE/SSCS, IEEE/UFFC

Biography: Clark T.-C. Nguyen received the B. S., M. S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989, 1991, and 1994, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. In 1995, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science up until mid-2006. In 2006, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is now a Professor and a co-Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. In 2001, Prof. Nguyen founded Discera, Inc., a company aimed at commercializing communication products, based upon MEMS technology, with an initial focus on the very vibrating micromechanical resonators pioneered by his research. He served as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Discera until mid-2002, at which point he joined the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on an IPA, where he served for 3.5 years as the Program Manager of the MEMS, Micro Power Generation (MPG), Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC), MEMS Exchange (MX), Harsh Environment Robust Micromechanical Technology (HERMIT), Micro Gas Analyzers (MGA), Radio Isotope Micropower Sources (RIMS), RF MEMS Improvement (RFMIP), Navigation-Grade Integrated Micro Gyroscopes (NGIMG), and Micro Cryogenic Coolers (MCC) programs, in the Microsystems Technology Office of DARPA. Prof. Nguyen is a Fellow of the IEEE and presently serves as the Vice President for Frequency Control in the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society.

Research Areas: (1) Micro sensors, actuators and integrated sensors, (2) Microfabrication especially etching and lithography (UV, X-ray), (3) Nanofabrication, (4) DNA nanotechnology, (5) Characterization of thin film mechanical properties

Professional Memberships: IEEE

Biography: Osamu Tabata had been with the Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories from 1981.  In 1996, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Japan. In 2003, he moved to Kyoto University, Japan. From September to December 2000, he was a guest Professor of Institute of Microsystem Technology, University of Freiburg, Germany, from January to March 2001, he was a guest Professor of ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He had visiting Professorship for senior international scientists of the Chinese Academy of Science in 2010. He is an external senior research fellow at Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) from May 2010 and a guest Professor of Huazong University of Science and Technology from 2011. He served as a General Chair of MEMS2003 and NEMS2012, and general co-chair of NMDC2012. Currently he is an associate editor of several Journals in the field of Nano/Microsystems and N/MEMS. Also he is serving as a program committee member of many International Conferences. He is interested in the research to realize a unique and novel nanosystem by assembling the various functional components such as a microchip, a particle, a microcapsule, DNA origami, a cell, etc., with sizes ranging from the nanometer to micrometer scale on a few mm square MEMS substrate.