Abishek K. Agarwal

Abhishek K. Agarwal

Abhishek K. Agarwal

Post-doctoral fellow, Biomedical Engineering Department
B.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000
M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006

Phone: (847) 467-2560
Fax:
E-mail: a-agarwal@northwestern.edu


Research interests

My area of focus has primarily been with cleanroom microfabrication (specifically, thin-film polyimide processing) and integration of liquid-phase photopolymerization and MEMS for microfluidic applications (e.g ., utilization of stimuli-responsive hydrogels and nickel impellers for the development of autonomous sensors and systems). As a post-doctoral research engineer in CIGHT, I have worked on exploring and developing various thermal cycling technologies (TEC, resistive heaters, microwave) and non-contact temperature measurement.  I am currently involved in prototyping development of the disposable medical diagnostic cartridge and design/development of an optical fluorimeter for real-time PCR quantification.  I am also working with flexible foil packaging materials (cold forming and heat sealing technologies) for storing liquid reagents necessary for the assay.  In my free time, I explore the remaining 2/3 of the underwater world through SCUBA diving (both fresh and salt waters - check out the 'Chicago SCUBA Meetup').  I am also an active member/volunteer in the BOSS Council at the Shedd Aquarium.

Selected Publications

  1. A. K. Agarwal, L. Dong, D. J. Beebe and H. Jiang, "Autonomously-triggered microfluidic cooling using thermo-responsive hydrogels," Lab on a Chip, vol. 7, pp. 310-315, 2007 (featured on inside cover).
  2. L. Dong, A. K. Agarwal, D. J. Beebe and H. Jiang, "Adaptive liquid microlenses activated by stimuli-responsive hydrogels," Nature, vol. 442, pp. 551-554, 2006 (featured on cover).
  3. S. S. Sridharamurthy, A. K. Agarwal, D. J. Beebe and H. Jiang, "Dissolvable membranes as sensing elements for microfluidics based biological/chemical sensors," Lab on a Chip, vol. 6, pp. 840-842, 2006.
  4. A. K. Agarwal, D. J. Beebe and H. Jiang, "Integration of polymer and metal microstructures using liquid-phase photopolymerization," Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, vol. 16, pp. 332-340, 2006.
  5. A. K. Agarwal, S. S. Sridharamurthy, D. J. Beebe, and H. Jiang, "Programmable autonomous micromixers and micropumps," IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1409-1412, 2005.