Title: Combining Computation and Microfluidics
Advisor: Luis Ceze
Supervisory Committee: Luis Ceze (Chair), Eric Klavins (GSR, ECE), Zach Tatlock, Karin Strauss (MSR), and Robert Carlson (MSR)
Abstract:
Microfluidic technology is already revolutionizing the automation of chemical and biological protocols. These devices manipulate small quantities of liquid at higher speeds and precision than humans, saving time, labor, and supplies. With the rise of automated scientific exploration, hybrid molecular-electronic systems, and more affordable microfluidic hardware, newer protocols will become too complex for today's batch-oriented, high-throughput tooling.
We propose a microfluidic system stack to handle these upcoming demands, enable entirely new applications, and make microfluidic programming more accessible. Our key insight is that microfluidics should "fit" into the modern,heterogeneous computer system. This will enable microfluidic programmers to use powerful general-purpose languages, and it will likewise allow the system designer to provide familiar concepts such a virtualization,isolation, and error-correction.