NanoEngineering
Associate Professor
Research in the Sirbuly laboratory is focused on leveraging the unique optical, mechanical and electrical properties of low-dimensional nanomaterials (e.g., nanowires, nanorods, nanoparticles) to develop novel platforms for sensing, energy conversion, imaging, and biological interfacing. Applications of such devices range from high-throughput detection systems to new instrumentation that can intricately watch and report on complex biological machinery. Currently the group has active research in thrust areas that include: (1) engineering of multi-modal fiber-based neural interfaces; (2) fabrication of ultrasensitive mechano-optical sensors; and (3) synthesis and fabrication of hybrid piezoelectric/polymer materials for energy scavenging and sensing devices.
Bio
Donald Sirbuly is an Associate Professor in the Department of NanoEngineering and an Affiliate Professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Program at UC San Diego. He holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from UC Santa Barbara and a B.S. in chemistry from Westmont College, Santa Barbara. Prior to joining UC San Diego in 2009, he was a staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a Harold C. Graboske Jr. Fellow at LLNL, and a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley. He has won several awards and science recognitions including the Hal Graboske Award, Hellman Fellowship, and NSF CAREER Award.