- Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek
AT&T Career Development Chair Professor
Deblina Sarkar is an assistant professor at MIT and AT&T Career Development Chair Professor at MIT Media Lab. She heads the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek research group. Her group carries out trans-disciplinary research fusing engineering, applied physics, and biology, aiming to bridge the gap between nanotechnology and synthetic biology to develop disruptive technologies for nanoelectronic devices and create new paradigms for human-machine symbiosis. The two main research directions in her group are:
- To develop disruptive technologies for ultra-low power nanoelectronic devices as energy efficient hardware for Artificial Intelligence
- To merge such next generation technologies with living-matter to create new paradigm for human-machine symbiosis in order to transform health-care.
Sarkar is a trans-disciplinary innovator, initially trained in electrical engineering and physics and then, has traversed the realm of biology, driven by curiosity and belief that truly disruptive technologies can immerge at the interface of diverse research arenas. Her inventions include, among others, a 6-atom thick channel quantum-mechanical transistor overcoming fundamental power limitations, an ultra-sensitive label-free biosensor, technology revealing previously invisible biological nanostructures of brain and the first ultra-miniaturized antenna that operates inside a living cell in 3D environment.
Her PhD dissertation was honored as one of the top 3 dissertations throughout USA and Canada in the field of Mathematics, Physical sciences and all departments of Engineering. She is the recipient of numerous other awards and recognitions, including the Lancaster Award for best PhD dissertation at UCSB, Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 from India, NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology (only awardee worldwide in 2022), Innovative Early Career Engineer by National Academy of Engineering, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award with the highest and rarely achieved impact score, the MIND Prize , the Science News' 10 Scientists to Watch , the Distinguished Scientist Award (one of the 3 awardees nationwide) and many more. For details see https://web.mit.edu/deblina-sarkar/honors.html
Sarkar’s research goal is to achieve seamless integration of nanoelectronics into biological systems to incorporate functionalities, not otherwise enabled by biology, and thus, transcending humans beyond diseases and biological limitations.
For more details visit: https://web.mit.edu/deblina-sarkar/