Rate My Professor Amar Basu

Amar Basu is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering within the James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering at Wayne State University. He received his BSE in Electrical Engineering in 2001, MSE in Electrical Engineering in 2003, MSE in Biomedical Engineering - Biotechnology in 2005, and PhD in Electrical Engineering - Circuits and Microsystems in 2008, all from the University of Michigan and awarded summa cum laude where applicable. His PhD thesis, conducted under Professor Yogesh Gianchandani at the NSF Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems, examined microthermal devices for fluidic actuation by modulation of surface tension. Basu joined Wayne State University as Assistant Professor in August 2008, advanced to Associate Professor with tenure in 2014, and serves as full Professor. He has directed the Wayne State Nanofabrication Facility since September 2016 and was Graduate Program Director for Electrical and Computer Engineering from 2016 to 2018. Basu also holds the position of Vice President of Engineering Research and Digital Assays at Bioelectronica Corp., alongside visiting scientist roles at Intel Corporation's Wearable Devices Group in 2016 and Purdue University's Aston Mass Spectrometry Labs from 2015 to 2016.

Basu's research focuses on microfluidics, bioinstrumentation, lab-on-a-chip systems, droplet-based digital assays, single-cell analysis, high-throughput screening, and wearable sensors for health monitoring. In the Microfluidics and Bioinstrumentation Lab, he develops innovations including the TRACE earlobe-mounted heart rate monitor, Droplet Morphometry and Velocimetry software adopted by 35 labs in 14 countries, and optofluidic tweezers. Prominent publications are "Digital Assays Part I: Partitioning Statistics and Digital PCR" (SLAS Technology, 2017, 380 citations), "Droplet Morphometry and Velocimetry (DMV): A Video Processing Software for Time-Resolved, Label-Free Tracking of Droplet Parameters" (Lab on a Chip, 2013, 276 citations), "A Modular Approach for the Generation, Storage, Mixing, and Detection of Droplet Libraries for High Throughput Screening" (Lab on a Chip, 2010, 148 citations), and "Virtual Microfluidic Traps, Filters, Channels and Pumps Using Marangoni Flows" (Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 2008, 120 citations). His scholarship garners over 1,800 citations. Awards include Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening New Product Award for Bioelectronica Hypercell (2020), Reader’s Choice Award for Digital Assays Part I (2020), College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award (2014), Outstanding Faculty Service Award (2013), NSF BRIGE award (2009), IEEE Professor of the Year (2009), and Sandia National Laboratories Harry S. Truman Fellowship (2008). Basu chairs tracks at SLAS, serves on IEEE Sensors technical program committees, and guest edits for Micromachines.