Evan Lerner
Marc Miskin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, has been awarded a 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship. As one of the most prestigious awards available to young researchers, the Fellowship recognizes early-career scholars in the United States and Canada. Each recipient receives a two-year, $75,000 Fellowship to support their research.
Miskin’s research involves the design and control of microscopic robots. Adapting techniques used in the manufacture of computer chips, he and his colleagues are able to make tens of thousands of these robots at a time on a standard silicon wafer. Once separated, these robots can move by means of legs consisting of nanoscale strips of platinum, which flex when a current is applied. The next steps for this research involve coordinating the activity of these robots into swarms, allowing them to collectively act as an adaptable, “smart” material.
Miskin and fellow Penn faculty members Ishmail Abdus-Saboor and Bo Zhen from the School of Arts & Sciences, Bhaswar B. Bhattacharya from the Wharton School, Ziyue Gao from the Perelman School of Medicine, and are among of the the 128 recipients of the Fellowship in this year’s class. Read more about them at Penn Today.