Cambridge NeuroWorks and PolyU PAIR Joint Seminar: Prof. John A. ROGERS of Northwestern University delivers “Bioelectronic Systems as Neural Interfaces”
Cambridge NeuroWorks and PolyU PAIR Joint Seminar
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Date
21 Jul 2026
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Organiser
PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research
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Time
20:00 - 21:30
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Venue
Online via Zoom
Speaker
Prof. John A. ROGERS
Enquiry
PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research info.pair@polyu.edu.hk
Summary
Abstract
Advanced electronic/optoelectronic systems constructed in classes of materials that enable intimate integration with soft tissues of the brain and the peripheral nervous system will accelerate progress in neuroscience research; they will also serve as the foundations for new approaches in regenerative medicine and in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. Specifically, capabilities for injecting miniaturized electronic elements, light sources, photodetectors, multiplexed sensors, programmable microfluidic networks and other components into precise locations of the deep brain or for softly laminating them onto the surfaces of peripheral nerves will open up unique and important opportunities in stimulating, inhibiting and monitoring neural circuit behaviors. This presentation will describe concepts in materials science and assembly processes that underpin these types of technologies, in 1D, 2D and 3D architectures. Examples include ‘cellular-scale’ optofluidic neural probes for small animal model research and 3D mesoscale networks for study of neural signal propagation in organoids.
Prof. John A. ROGERS
Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery (and by courtesy Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry and Dermatology)
Director, Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics
Northwestern University
Prof. John A. ROGERS obtained BA and BS degrees in chemistry and in physics from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1989. From MIT, he received SM degrees in physics and in chemistry in 1992 and a PhD degree in physical chemistry in 1995. From 1995 to 1997, Rogers was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows. He joined Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff in 1997 and then served as Director of the Condensed Matter Physics Research Department from the end of 2000 to 2002. He then spent thirteen years on the faculty at the University of Illinois, most recently as the Swanlund Chair Professor and Director of the Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. In the Fall of 2016, he moved to Northwestern University where he is Director of the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics. He has co-authored nearly 1000 papers and he is co-inventor on more than 100 patents, more than 70 or which are licensed to large companies or to startups that have emerged from his labs. 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 MRS Medal (2018), the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute (2019), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2021), the James Prize for Science and Technology Integration from the NAS (2022) and the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award (2024). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Personal Website: https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/research-faculty/directory/profiles/rogers-john.html
