Education

• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Virginia, 2007
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Virginia, 2004
• B.S., Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2002

Professional Experience

• Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis, Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2011-Present
• Postdoctoral Research Associate - Center for Engineering in Medicine, Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 2009 - 2011
• Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 2007 - 2009
• Virginia Microelectronics Scholar - University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 2001

Affiliations

• Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Group
• Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Graduate Program
• Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group
• Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology Program

Research Interests

Nanostructured materials, energy storage, high-throughput material characterization platforms, structure-property relationships in micro- and nano-scale, tissue-material and biomolecule-surface interactions, BioMEMS, microfluidic flow control schemes, multi-functional biomedical devices, drug delivery, neural electrodes.

Research Activities

Erkin Şeker's research experience spans the areas of nanoporous metal synthesis, MEMS-based mechanical characterization, microfluidic flow control techniques, biomedical and bioanalytical applications of porous metals and microfluidics, and biomedical systems analysis. He used microfabrication technology to characterize nanoporous gold (np-Au), a promising candidate for functional surface coatings, and has made significant contributions to the materials science community on np-Au's structure-property relationship. He studied np-Au's interactions with biomolecules and developed microfluidic flow control schemes for facile liquid manipulation. His latest research efforts include the development of multi-functional neural electrodes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, as well as engineering microfluidic platforms for studying cell-material interactions at multiple scales.

Distinctions

• Massachusetts General Hospital Fund for Medical Discovery Award, 2010 - 2011
• Louis T. Rader Graduate Research Award, 2007
• Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, 2006
• School of Engineering Dean's Fellowship, 2005 - 2007
• Gilbert and Lucille Scholarship, 2000 - 2002
• Virginia Microelectronics Consortium Scholar, 2001

Selected Publications

1. Şeker, E.*, Berdichevsky, Y.*, Begley, M.R., Reed, M.L., Staley, K.J., Yarmush, M.L., "Fabrication of low-impedance nanoporous gold multiple electrode arrays for neural electrophysiology studies," Nanotechnology 21: 125504 (2010). (*These authors contributed equally to this work.)
2. Huang, L., Şeker, E., Landers, J.P., Begley, M.R., Utz, M., "The energetics of surface adsorption and molecular interactions for short ds-DNA," Langmuir 26:11574 (2010).
3. Şeker, E., Reed, M.L., Begley, M.R., "Nanoporous gold: fabrication, characterization and applications," Materials 2:2188 (2009). (Invited Review for Special Issue: Porous Materials)
4. Leslie, D.C., Easley, C.J., Şeker, E., Karlinsey, J.M., Utz, M., Begley, M.R., Landers, J.P., "Frequency-specific flow control in microfluidic circuits with passive elastomer features," Nature Physics 5:231 (2009). (Reviewed by Howard A. Stone, "Tuned-in flow control," Nature Physics 5:178, 2009; Covered in Editor's Choice, Science 323:1539, 2009; Covered in Research Highlight, Lab on a Chip 9:861, 2009)
5. Şeker, E., Reed, M.L., Utz, M., Begley, M.R., "Flexible and conductive bilayer membranes of nanoporous gold and silicone: synthesis and characterization," Applied Physics Letters 92:154101 (2008).
6. Şeker, E., Gaskins, J.T., Bart-Smith, H., Zhu, J., Reed, M.L., Zangari, G., Kelly, R.G., Begley, M.R., "The effects of post-fabrication annealing on the mechanical properties of freestanding nanoporous structures," Acta Materialia 55:4593 (2007).