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RLS: Please explain the unique team approach in Professor Wang’s laboratory.
Figure 2 – Image illustrating the self-healing ability of a carbon trace when completely severed by a knife. The trace was printed using micro- capsules-based carbon ink.
RLS: What applications do you envision?
AB: My lab is mostly focused on developing printed chemical sensors for various healthcare, defense and environmental applications. However, we are now venturing into new avenues, such as printed energy devices.
We like to explore radical ideas. For example, we are working on wearable biofuel cells that can harvest electricity from human sweat. Recently we were able to power a wristwatch and a light-emitting diode (LED) using these devices. Although these could be powered for only a short time, the results are quite promising and, with the advances in materials science, en- zymology and electronics, one day such devices may turn out to be viable for harvesting energy.
RLS: How does the sweat-powered LED work?
AB: Human sweat contains considerable levels of lactate. Fortunately, there is an enzyme—lactate oxidase—that can selectively oxidize lactate to gen- erate electricity. We exploited this enzymatic reaction to develop a wearable biofuel cell where the anode was fabricated by immobilizing the enzyme along with a mediator (for obtaining efficient electron transfer between the redox site of the enzyme and the anode) and carbon nanotubes (for enhancing the current generated). The cathode is made of platinum, which reduces oxygen to water. When you bring both these electrodes together in the presence of lactate, the lactate molecule becomes oxidized at the anode to generate electrons that flow from the anode through the external load (for example, LED); the electrons are consumed at the cathode, where the oxygen is reduced to water.
RLS: You mentioned that wearable circuits would be more versatile if the energy could be stored. Do you foresee suitable batteries?
AB: Indeed, wearable batteries are going to play a crucial role in the bud- ding field of wearable electronics. Several researchers, including us, are now working on thin, flexible/stretchable batteries that can be easily integrated with the human body to continuously power various wearable devices. The scope for wearable batteries is huge.
RLS: The Internet of Things is creeping into chemical and life science laboratories. Do you see your inventions changing the lab workflow?
AB: Having a host of chemical sensors at various chemical and life science laboratories is bound to have a major impact. Such sensors will provide us with unprecedented levels of vital information and enable us to continu- ously and remotely monitor several parameters at the same time.
AMERICAN LABORATORY 47
AB: We have a goal-driven approach for each project. Professor Wang likes to entrust his students to work on multiple projects simultaneously. His lab always attracts talented, self-motivated students and this helps us put together high-performance teams that can achieve tough milestones within limited timeframes. Professor Wang allows new students to work on existing projects to teach them important skills and the working principles of the lab. Students are then given the opportunity to lead projects. There is a continuous exchange of ideas between Professor Wang and his students.
RLS: Are the teams multidisciplinary? Do you recruit members from outside of Prof. Wang’s lab?
AB: Indeed. Our project goals mandate that we have a cross-disciplinary research approach. In several projects we collaborated with groups that have expertise in electrical engineering, batteries, thermoelectrics and the medical field.
RLS: You’ve served as a project leader. How did this go?
AB: I started as a team member working with senior graduate students and post-docs in various projects to learn skills that I would need later when I would be a team leader. I gradually worked my way up and started leading projects. I will forever be indebted to the Wang lab for teaching me important leadership skills that allow me to handle multiple projects at the same time without compromising on the quality of any project. Over the years I have learned to handle high-performance teams, efficient time management, effective communication skills and resource management. I am confident that these skills will be quite useful for me in future when I become a professor and have to handle a big research group.
RLS: What do you see in your future?
AB: My dream is to be a successful professor running a multidisciplinary research group. I’ve accepted a post-doctoral position in Prof. John Rogers’ group at Northwestern University. His lab is renowned for developing soft, stretchable electronics for wearable/implantable devices. Eventually, I wish to combine the knowledge I’ve acquired from both groups (Professors Wang and Rogers) to address the most pressing needs in the wearable devices field.
RLS: Thank you for sharing your views. I can see that you are passionate about your work, and I look forward to seeing your solutions to wearable devices.
AB: Thank you, Dr. Stevenson, for showing interest in my work and for your kind words. Such appreciation motivates me to push myself harder.
Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D., is Editor Emeritus, American Laboratory/ Labcompare; e-mail:
rlsteven@yahoo.com
MAY 2016
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