Joint Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering
Director, Nano-engineered Systems Institute (NanoES)
Site Director, National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI)
karlb@uw.edu
Phone: (206) 221-5177
Office: EE 253-I and NanoES 297

UW Bioengineering faculty Karl Bohringer

Karl Böhringer

My lab uses microfabrication and nanotechnology to build microfluidic labs-on-a-chip and implantable sensors.
MEMS
Microfabrication
Self-assembly
Microrobotics
Microfluidics
In our lab, we work on many aspects of micro and nano electro mechanical systems (MEMS / NEMS). This research tends to be very interdisciplinary, and we have collaborations in biology, chemical engineering, bioengineering, computer science, and other departments. We have built, for example, self-assembling microstructures, biomedical implants, systems for docking of picosatellites, and walking microrobots.
There are two major research themes in our work:
Controlling surfaces and interfacial forces at the micro and nano scale: this includes systems for controlled self-assembly of microcomponents, “programmable” surfaces whose local properties (for example, hydrophobicity) can be changed on demand, and MEMS actuator arrays and microrobots for moving tiny objects.
Joining MEMS and biology: this includes integrating new biomaterials into MEMS processes and devices, biomedical sensor implants, and microfluidic chips for handling and analyzing biological samples.
PhD Cornell University, 1997
MS Cornell University, 1993
Dipl.-Inform., Technical University Karlsruhe, Germany, 1990
University of California at Berkeley, 1996-1998
2011 IEEE Fellow
2010 John M. Fluke Distinguished Chair of Engineering, University of Washington
2004-2005 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan
2004 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Academic Early Career Award
1999 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
1997 National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Associateship

Hal R. Holmes, Karl F.Böhringer, “Transporting Droplets through Surface Anisotropy”, Microsystems & Nanoengineering, Nature Publishing Group 1:15022, 28 September 2015, doi:10.1038/micronano.2015.22.

Kwang Soon Park, Cagdas Varel, Ji Hao Hoo, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer,”3D integration using self-assembly at air-water-solid interface.” IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 23(3):579-584, June 2014 (DOI 10.1109/JMEMS.2013.2291235, published online 2013).

Ji Hao Hoo, Kwang Soon Park, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer, “Template-based self-assembly for silicon chips and 01005 surface-mount components”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 24(4):045018, 25 March 2014.

Ça?da? Varel, Yi-Chun Shih, Brian P. Otis, Tueng S. Shen, Karl F. Böhringer, “A wireless intraocular pressure monitoring device with a solder-filled microchannel antenna,” Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 24(4):045012, 25 March 2014.

Chang-Ching Tu, Ji Hao Hoo, Karl F. Böhringer, Lih Y. Lin, Guozhong Cao, “Red-Emitting Silicon Quantum Dot Phosphors in Warm White LEDs with Excellent Color Rendering”, Optics Express, 28 January 2014.

Kwang Soon Park, Ji Hao Hoo, Rajashree Baskaran, and Karl F Böhringer, “Effect of fluid viscosity on dynamics of self-assembly at air-water interface”, ASME/IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 22(3):662-669, June 2013.

Bowen Cheng, Dirk De Bruyker, Chris Chua, Kunal Sahasrabuddhe, Ivan Shubin, John E. Cunningham, Ying Luo, Karl F. Böhringer, Ashok V. Krishnamoorthy, Eugene M. Chow, “Microspring characterization and flip-chip assembly reliability.” IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology 3(2):187-196, February 2013.

Kwang Soon Park, Ji Hao Hoo, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer, “Optimization of Angular Alignment in Self-assembly of Thin Parts at an Air-water Interface.” ASME/IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (letter) 22(1):13-15, February 2013.

Kwang Soon Park, Ji Hao Hoo, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer, “Parallel heterogeneous integration of chip-scale parts by self-assembly.” ASME/IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (letter) 21(6):1273-5, December 2012.

Chang-Ching Tu, Ji-Hao Hoo, Karl F. Böhringer, Lih Y. Lin, Guozhong Cao, “Surface passivation dependent photoluminescence from silicon quantum dot phosphors.” Optics Letters 37(22):4771-4, 15 November 2012.

Kwang Soon Park, Ji Hao Hoo, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer, “Orientation-controlled parallel assembly at air-water interface”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 22(10):105028, October 2012.

Todd A. Duncombe, James F. Parsons, Karl F. Böhringer, „Directed Drop Transport Rectified from Orthogonal Vibrations via a Flat Wetting Barrier Ratchet”, Langmuir 28(38):13765-13770, 30 August 2012.

Shaghayegh Abbasi, Sathana Kitayaporn, Michael J. Siedlik, Daniel T. Schwartz, Karl F. Böhringer, “Electrodeposition modeling and optimization to improve thin film patterning with orchestrated structure evolution”, IOP Nanotechnology 23(30):305301, 3 August 2012.

Todd A. Duncombe, E. Yegân Erdem, Ashutosh Shastry, Rajashree Baskaran, Karl F. Böhringer, “Controlling Liquid Drops with Texture Ratchets.” Advanced Materials 24(12):1545-1550, 22 March 2012.

Anupama V. Govindarajan, Sujatha Ramachandran, Genevieve D. Vigil, Paul Yager, Karl F. Böhringer, “A low cost point-of-care viscous sample preparation device for molecular diagnosis in the developing world; an example of microfluidic origami.” Lab-on-a-Chip 12(1):174-181, 2012.

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