Professor John A. Rogers began his career at Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff in the Condensed Matter Physics Research Department in 1997, and served as Director from the end of 2000 to 2002. He then spent thirteen years at the University of Illinois, as the Swanlund Chair Professor and Director of the Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. In 2016, he joined Northwestern University as the Simpson/Querrey Professor, where he is also Director of the Institute for Bioelectronics. He has co-authored nearly 900 papers and he is co-inventor on more than 100 patents. His research has been recognized by many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), the Lemelson-MIT Prize (2011), the Smithsonian Award for American Ingenuity in the Physical Sciences (2013), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (2019), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2021). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Frontier Developments in Materials for Bioelectronics

Abstract:
Advanced electronic/optoelectronic technologies designed to allow stable, intimate integration with living organisms will accelerate progress in biomedical research; they will also serve as the foundations for new approaches in monitoring and treating diseases. Specifically, capabilities for injecting miniaturized electronic systems and other components into soft tissues or for softly laminating them onto the surfaces of vital organs will open up unique and important opportunities in tracking and manipulating biological processes. This presentation describes the core concepts in materials science, circuit design and manufacturing that underpin these types of technologies, including bioresorbable, or ‘transient’, devices designed to disappear into the body on timescales matched to natural processes. Examples include skin-like devices for health monitoring and bioelectronic ‘medicines’ for neuroregeneration and temporary cardiac pacing.