2009-2010 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

sues; cell mechanics; and mixture theory
for biological tissues with experiments
and computational analysis (Ateshian).
The Hone group is involved in a number
of projects that employ the tools of
micro- and nano-fabrication toward the
study of biological systems. With collaborators
in biology and applied physics,
the group has developed techniques to
fabricate metal patterns on the molecular
scale (below 10 nanometers) and attach
biomolecules to create biofunctionalized
nanoarrays. The group is currently using
these arrays to study molecular recognition,
cell spreading, and protein crystallization.
Professor Hone is a co-PI of the
NIH-funded Nanotechnology Center for
Mechanics in Regenerative Medicine,
which seeks to understand and modify
at the nanoscale force- and geometrysensing
pathways in health and disease.
The Hone group fabricates many of the
tools used by the center to measure and
apply force on a cellular level. (Hone)
In the area of molecular bioengineering,
proteins are engineered to understand
their mechanical effects on stem
cell differentiation. Molecular motors are
designed and engineered computationally
and experimentally to identify key
structural elements of motor functions.
Fluorescent labels are added to the molecules
of interest to follow their dynamics
in living cells and to correlate their
mechanical characteristics with the
process of stem cell differentiation. (Liao)
Microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) are being exploited to enable
and facilitate the characterization and
manipulation of biomolecules. MEMS
technology allows biomolecules to be
studied in well-controlled micro/nanoenvironments
of miniaturized, integrated
devices, and may enable novel biomedical
investigations not attainable by
conventional techniques. The research
interests center on the development of
MEMS devices and systems for labelfree
manipulation and interrogation of
biomolecules. Current research efforts
primarily involve microfluidic devices that
exploit specific and reversible, stimulusdependent
binding between biomolecules
and receptor molecules to enable
selective purification, concentration, and
label-free detection of nucleic acid, protein,
and small molecule analytes; miniaturized
instruments for label-free characterization
of thermodynamic and other
physical properties of biomolecules; and
subcutaneously implantable MEMS affinity
biosensors for continuous monitoring
of glucose and other metabolites (Lin).
The advanced robotics and mechanism
application lab (ARMA) is focused
on surgical intervention using novel
robotic architectures. Examples of these
architectures include flexible snakelike
robots, parallel robots, and cooperative
robotic systems. The current research
activity is focused on providing safer
and deeper interaction with the anatomy
using minimally invasive approaches,
surgery through natural orifices, surgical
task planning based on dexterity and
performance measures, and manipulation
of flexible organs. The ongoing
funded research projects include NIHfunded
grants on designing next-generation
robotic slaves for incisionless surgical
intervention (surgery through natural
opening); minimally invasive surgery
for the throat and upper airways; imageguided
insertable robotic platforms for
less invasive surgery (surgery that is
carried out using a single incision in the
abdomen); and robotic assistance for
cochlear implant surgery (NSF funded,
Simaan).
Mass radiological triage is critical
after a large-scale radiological event
because of the need to identify those
individuals who will benefit from medical
intervention as soon as possible. The
goal of the ongoing NIH-funded research
project is to design a prototype of a fully
automated, ultra high throughput biodosimetry.
This prototype is supposed
to accommodate multiple assay preparation
protocols that allow the determination
of the levels of radiation exposure
that a patient received. The input to
this fully autonomous system is a large
number of capillaries filled with blood of
patients collected using finger sticks.
These capillaries are processed by the
system to distill the micronucleus assay
in lymphocytes, with all the assays being
carried out in situ in multi-well plates.
The research effort on this project
involves the automation system design
and integration including hierarchical
control algorithms, design and control of
custom built robotic devices, and automated
image acquisition and processing
for sample preparation and analysis
(Simaan, Yao).
A technology that couples the power
of multidimensional microscopy (three
spatial dimensions, time, and multiple
wavelengths) with that of DNA array
technology is investigated in an NIH-funded
project. Specifically, a system is developed
in which individual cells selected
on the basis of optically detectable
multiple features at critical time points in
dynamic processes can be rapidly and
robotically micromanipulated into reaction
chambers to permit amplified DNA
synthesis and subsequent array analysis.
Customized image processing and
pattern recognition techniques are
developed, including Fisher’s linear discriminant
preprocessing with neural net,
a support vector machine with improved
training, multiclass cell detection with
error correcting output coding, and kernel
principal component analysis (Yao).
Facilities for Teaching and Research
The undergraduate laboratories, occupying
an area of approximately 6,000
square feet of floor space, are the site of
experiments ranging in complexity from
basic instrumentation and fundamental
exercises to advanced experiments in
such diverse areas as automatic controls,
heat transfer, fluid mechanics, stress
analysis, vibrations, microcomputerbased
data acquisition, and control of
mechanical systems.
Equipment includes microcomputers
and microprocessors, analog-to-digital
and digital-to-analog converters, lasers
and optics for holography and interferometry,
a laser-Doppler velocimetry system,
a Schlieren system, dynamic strain
indicators, a servohydraulic material
testing machine, a photoelastic testing
machine, an internal combustion engine,
a dynamometer, subsonic and supersonic
wind tunnels, a cryogenic apparatus,
computer numerically controlled vertical
machine centers (VMC), a coordinate
measurement machine (CMM), and a
rapid prototyping system. A CNC wire
electrical discharge machine (EDM) is
also available for the use of specialized
projects for students with prior arrangement.
The undergraduate laboratory also
houses experimental setups for the
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SEAS 2009–2010