Bio-chips : Connecting Biochemistry to Information technology

Microfluidics-based biochips (or lab-on-chip) are revolutionizing laboratory procedures in molecular biology, and leading to a convergence of information technology with biochemistry and microelectronics. Advances in microfluidics technology offer exciting possibilities for high-throughput DNA sequencing, protein crystallization, drug discovery, immunoassays, neo-natal and point-of-care clinical diagnostics, etc. As microfluidic lab-on-chip mature into multifunctional devices with “smart” reconfiguration and adaptation capabilities, automated design and ease of use become extremely important. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools are needed to allow designers and users to harness the new technology that is rapidly emerging for integrated biofluidics. This talk will present ongoing work on design and test techniques for microfluidic biochips. First, the speaker will provide an overview of electrowetting-based digital microfluidic biochips. Next, the speaker will describe synthesis tools that can map behavioral descriptions to a reconfigurable microfluidic device and generate an optimized schedule of bioassay operations, the binding of assay operations to functional units, and the layout and droplet flow-paths for the biochip. Techniques for pin-constrained chip design, fault detection, and dynamic reconfiguration will also be presented. An automated design flow allows the biochip user to concentrate on the development of nano- and micro-scale bioassays, leaving implementation details to CAD tools.

The speaker is Dr Krishnendu Chakravarty of Duke University. The talk is followed by a panel discussion on ‘Issues and Trends in VLSI’ where the following are taking part

– Ravikumar CP, Texas Instruments & VLSI Society of India
– Jagdish Rao, Texas Instruments
– Nagavolu Srinivasa Murty, NXP Semi Conductors
– Mysore Sriram, Intel
– PCP Bhatt, IIT Delhi
– Dr Govind

This talk is part of ACM Bangalore’s Distinguished Speakers Programme and is on 14th February between 9 am and 1.30 pm at TERI Auditorium, 4th Main, 2nd cross, Domlur II Stage, Bangalore – 560 071. Register here for free.

About the Speaker
Krishnendu Chakrabarty received the B. Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1990, and the M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1992 and 1995, respectively. He is now Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University.

Prof. Chakrabarty is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Early Faculty (CAREER) award, the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award, the Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, and several best papers awards at IEEE conferences. His current research projects include: testing and design-for-testability of integrated circuits; digital microfluidics, circuits and systems based on DNA self-assembly, and wireless sensor networks. He has authored seven books on these topics, published over 260 papers in journals and refereed conference proceedings, and given over 100 invited, keynote, and plenary talks. Prof. Chakrabarty is a Fellow of IEEE and a Senior Member of ACM. He is recipient of the 2008 Duke University Graduate School Dean’s Award for excellence in mentoring. He served as a Distinguished Visitor of the IEEE Computer Society during 2005-2007, and as a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society during 2006-2007. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, and the ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems. He also serves as an Editor of IEEE Design & Test of Computers and of the Journal of Electronic Testing: Theory and Applications (JETTA).

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