Functional Building Block Research Groups
Our research groups are organized into four Functional Building Block Groups from the natural partitioning of the integrated molecular recognition system into its molecular transport and molecular recognition functions. This organization leverages and effectively couples our strengths in electronic and photonic materials and devices as well as molecular biology, proteomics, and microfluidics. By design, it mirrors and is a natural fit to the efforts of WVNano’s crosscutting groups.
Organization of research around discovery at the functional building block level provides a means to effectively manage, focus, and inspire basic science and engineering work based on device functional needs. In addition, it enables device and system-level science and engineering issues such as hybrid and monolithic integration and nano-micro-macro interface issues to be addressed from the unifying perspective imposed by need for functional device operation. Execution of building block research threads woven together to achieve testbed functions result in research products of greater interest to mission agencies seeking to understand the impact of work on their functional capabilities. Perhaps of most importance, this organization serves to strengthen and hone the connectivity and collaborative dynamic within and between each interdisciplinary testbed group. The goal-oriented testbed approach serves to maintain and grow the interdisciplinary cohesiveness between existing and new faculty, postdocs and students.