Deblina Sarkar, head of the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek research group, has been awarded the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC) Early Career Award in Nanotechnology. This award recognizes individuals who have made contributions with major impact on the field of nanotechnology; Professor Sarkar's award celebrates her innovative work in development of energy-efficient next-generation computing technology and fusion of nanotechnology with biology towards understanding the brain.

The IEEE NTC is a multidisciplinary group whose purpose is to advance and coordinate work in the field of Nanotechnology as it is carried out throughout the IEEE in scientific, literary, and educational areas. The IEEE NTC also supports the theory, design, and development of nanotechnology and its scientific, engineering, and industrial applications.

"It is such an honor to receive the IEEE NTC Early Career Award in Nanotechnology," Professor Sarkar says. "In our group, we develop nanoelectronic devices to achieve energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable hardware for artificial intelligence. Moreover, we merge such nanoelectronics with biological systems, especially the brain, for novel diagnostics and therapeutics. With such unique fusion, one day we hope to extend human intelligence beyond the limitations of biology. This award is a great boost to our research endeavours!"

According to Professor Paul Weiss, who is chair of the IEEE NTC Awards Committee, UC Presidential Chair, and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute, "Professor Sarkar’s work brings recent nanoscale advances in electrical engineering and materials science to important problems in biology, where function is at the nanoscale. These crossovers between and merging of fields and training are needed to make headway in gaining understanding into complex biological systems. Professor Sarkar is leading the way and we are delighted to have her engage with the IEEE Nanotechnology Council."

Samir Mitragotri, the Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute, says, "Deblina is pioneering a new research field at the interface of nanotechnology and biology. Her research exemplifies how innovations in nanotechnology can enable their deeper integration with biology and generate new capabilities that improve human health. The Early Career Award by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council is a recognition of Deblina's creative and innovative research."

The award will be presented at the annual IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology (NANO 2022) in Palma De Mallorca, Spain, where Professor Sarkar will present her work as a keynote speaker. She will also contribute a short paper to the IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine (INM) highlighting her technical contributions.

Professor Sarkar is the only awardee worldwide to receive this award in 2022.