Benjamin G. Hawkins

Ph.D. Student
Biomedical Engineering

Project Web Page:

DEP particle manipulation

Email:

bgh6@cornell.edu

Address:

245 Upson Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Phone:

(607) 255-9114

Fax:

(607) 255-1222

Ben Hawkins currently works on dielectrophoretic particle manipulation. Specifically, Ben’s interests lie in developing dielectrophoresis-based high-throughput screening techniques for phenotypic variation in cell membrane composition in Mycobacteria.

More generally, Ben’s interests lie in the development of microscale electrokinetic particle/fluid manipulation systems for a variety of applications.

Biography

Ben Hawkins joined the Micro/Nanofluidics Laboratory in October of 2005. From 2000-2005, Ben studied Electrical Engineering at California State University, Fresno. While studying, he developed a loosely couple inductive power transfer system for battery charging as part of the Bulldog Bot autonomous vehicle project. In 2004, Ben started a consulting company; working for Signet Systems, with high-frequency battery charging systems, and Biomimetic Connections, examining biological systems and their applicability to engineering problems.

Ben is a member of the Cornell Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, IEEE, and Phi Kappa Phi.

Current Projects

Current projects include the development of rapid particle sorting systems using insulative dielectorphoresis and electrode-based dielectrophoretic mobility assays.

Honors and Awards

- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Awarded, 2007
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Honorable Mention, 2006
- NBTC best poster award, 2006
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Honorable Mention, 2005
- Dean’s Medal, College of Engineering, California State University, Fresno, 2005

Education

- B.S. 2005 – California State University, Fresno, Electrical Engineering, with Honors

Invited Presentations

Publications and Presentations

B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, B.J. Kirby,
"High-throughput, continuous-flow, dielectrophoretic screening of Mycobacterium smegmatis in coherently patterned, polymeric micro-channels," AIChE annual meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, November 6-9, 2007.

B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, Y.A. Syed, B.J. Kirby,
"Continuous-flow particle separation by 3D insulative dielectrophoresis using coherently shaped, DC-biased, AC electric fields," Analytical Chemistry, 2007.

B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, B.J. Kirby,
"High-throughput, continuous-flow, dielectrophoretic screening of Mycobacterium smegmatis in coherently patterned, polymeric micro-channels," MicroTAS 2007, Paris, France, October 7-11, 2007.

B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, B.J. Kirby,
Gordon Research Conference, Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics, Waterville Valley, NH, July 15-20, 2007.

A.E. Smith, B.G. Hawkins, Y.A. Syed, B.J. Kirby, "Dielectrophoretic particle manipulation in ridged microchannels," Proc. IMECE2006, Chicago, IL, November 5-10, 2006.

B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, Y.A. Syed, B.J. Kirby, "Continuous flow dielectrophoretic particle sorting using insulative, polymeric structures," Proc. AIChE Annual Mtg., San Francisco, CA, November 12-18, 2006.

B. J. Kirby, N.G. Baldasaro, B.G. Hawkins, A.E. Smith, Y.A. Syed, "Manufacture and testing of dielectrophoretic spectrometers," Report CMNFL0501, Sibley School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, October, 2005.

K. Chatterjee, P. Matos, B. Hawkins and S. Jahanian, "Stochastic extraction of partial inductances in digital IC interconnect structures: 2D verification", VLSI Multilevel Interconnection Conference, Marina Del Rey, CA, pp. 451-454, September 23-25, 2003.

K. Chatterjee, P. Matos and B. Hawkins, "A novel stochastic algorithm for the extraction of frequency-independent partial inductances in digital IC interconnect structures and a frequency-dependent generalization," 20th Annual Review of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, Syracuse, NY, April 19-23, 2004.