The Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announces that Professor Yoel Fink of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) and Professor Rahul Sarpeshkar of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) have been awarded permanent tenure.
Professor Jeffrey H. Shapiro, RLE Director and Julius A. Stratton Professor of Electrical Engineering, commented that, “Professors Fink and Sarpeshkar represent the vanguard of a new generation of RLE researchers coming into their own. Both have achieved remarkable and important results in their research areas, and both have been extraordinarily successful in building bridges between the fundamental engineering and scientific work that they conduct in their groups here at MIT and the world of practical and commercial applications. Even though each concentrates in very different areas—Professor Fink in photonic bandgap structures and Professor Sarpeshkar in biologically-inspired circuits and systems—it is interesting to note that at the application end of their work, both are making profound impact in medical technologies. Professor Fink’s discoveries have led to new surgical methods using photonic bandgap fibers to direct lasers while Professor Sarpeskar’s work has led to advances in low power electronics for cochlear implants.”
Professor Fink is a principal investigator in RLE and leads RLE’s Photonic Bandgap Fibers and Devices Group. He attended the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and received his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering in 1994, followed by a B.A. in Physics in 1995. While there, he received the Hershel Rich Technion Innovation Award (1994) for development of a flow-through controlled-environment vitrification system. In 2000, he received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from MIT and joined the MIT faculty as an Assistant Professor. In 2004, he was promoted to Thomas B. King Associate Professor of Materials Science. His current interests have focused on basic optical material synthesis, novel bandgap structures development, low cost processing, optical characterization and simulation and theory. In 2004 Professor Fink received the Initiatives in Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences for “pioneering contributions and ingenuity in the creative design and development of photonic materials and devices.”
Professor Sarpeshkar is a principal investigator in RLE where he leads the RLE Analog VLSI and Biological Systems Group. He obtained Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics at MIT. After completing his Ph.D. at Caltech, he joined Bell Labs as a member of technical staff. He joined MIT’s EECS faculty in 1999. In 2002, he was appointed the first recipient of the Robert J. Shillman career development professorship, and in 2003, he was promoted to Associate Professor. Professor Sarpeshkar has received numerous awards including the Packard Fellow award given to outstanding young faculty, the ONR Young Investigator Award, and the NSF Career Award. He holds over a dozen patents and has authored numerous publications including one that was featured on the cover of NATURE. His research interests include analog and mixed-signal VLSI, ultra low power circuits and systems, biologically inspired circuits and systems, and control theory.
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