Graduate student Quentin Aten was recognized for his work in the bio-medical application of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). On September 4, 2007, Quentin presented a poster and an oral presentation entitled "Out-of-Plane Cellular Manipulator" as part of the ASME Undergraduate Mechanism Design Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was selected as one of four finalists to present at the conference, where he placed second overall.
Recently, he also presented at the Second Annual NanoUtah Conference at the University of Utah, where he won the Best Poster Award in the student competition.
Quentin works with Dr. Brian Jensen and Dr. Larry Howell from the ME Department and also collaborates with Dr. Sandra Burrnett of the Microbiology and Molecular Biology Department. They are developing a method of using MEMS to inject DNA into individual cells. Regarding his research, Quentin says, "My goal is to produce a microinjector that is simpler to use, more economical, and has a higher success rate than current microinjector technology." Quentin