Adela Ben-Yakar received the Ph. D. degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2000. After graduating, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Applied Physics at Stanford University and a visiting scholar at Harvard University. She is currently an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of the graduate student council in the Biomedical Engineering Department and Institute of Neurosciences. Her research interests are in femtosecond laser material interactions, fs-laser nano-surgery, plasmonic laser nano-surgery, two-photon imaging, and fs-laser applications for diagnosis and treatment of cancer and for in-vivo nerve regeneration studies.

In 2000, I received my Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Lyon in France . After a two-year postdoctoral position in the Byer-Fejer group at Stanford, I joined a start-up company, Solid State Photonix, now defunct. In January 2005, I got the chance to join Dr. Ben-Yakar’s group, here at UT Austin.

My main project is to pursue the study of axotomy and nerve regeneration in living C. elegans using femto second laser microsurgery. The characterization of axotomy (plasma and bubble formation, sealing of severed axons) and the control of chemical environment (inhibitors, chemo-attractants…) will give a better understanding of processes involved in growth and/or regeneration of nerves.

Armed with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, I worked with the GE Research Center at Bangalore, India for two years. I worked with engineers at GE Power Systems, Atlanta and Schenectady, NY for systemizing the requisition process for gas turbines set up in the 70's in the US. Fortunately or unfortunately, all the PhDs around me convinced me that a graduate degree is the way to do it.. and I have been looking for my Holy Grail ever since!!

My project involves studying and characterizing micromachining of borosilicate glass etc. using a femtosecond laser. This provides a quick and easily customizable process for making microfluidic samples. I intend to extend this study to micromachining of other dielectric materials (including tissue) with different optical and thermal properties. Currently, I am focusing on the effect of beam-shaping on the ablation crater morphology. 

I was born in Oregon and grew up in Northern Northern California (the rainy, uninhabited part). I attended U.C. Berkeley, where I received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the spring of 2003. After completing my undergraduate degree, I worked for Nellcor, developing a novel system to measure important physiological parameters. I began my graduate studies at U.T. in the fall of 2004 in the department of biomedical engineering. I am currently optimizing and characterizing a combined two-photon microscopy and femtosecond laser microsurgery system for use in biomedical research. Using this all-optical system, we can simultaneously manipulate and image biological specimens with high precision and resolution. I am also investigating the use of nanostructures as imaging contrast agents, especially in nonlinear imaging techniques.

I'm a second year graduate student in the University of Texas Department of Biomedical Engineering. My undergraduate years were completed at the University of Rochester. There I received a double degree in Optics and Biomedical Engineering. My current research concerns the use of surface enhanced plasmonic scattering (SEPS) by metallic nanoparticles for the ablation of attoliter volumes of materials. Two potential technologies that I will completing proof-of-concept experiments for during my graduate years include a novel nanoparticle-assisted cancer therapy and laser angioplasty. Past research interests include the effects of contrast agents for reflectance confocal microscopy on standard histological tests, integrative designs for multi-field of view mircoscopy techniques, and polarization sensitive imaging of excised tissue margins. In addition to research, I am president of Texas Optics, the joint UT student organization of OSA and SPIE.

My home town is Dresden, Germany where I was born 1984. I studied physics in Wuerzburg, Germany and participated in different research projects: (1) 2003 Heavy Ion Tumor Therapy (Research center Rossendorf). (2) 2004 3D Photography in weightlessness during Student parabolic flight campaign (ESA). (3) 2005 Ultrabroadband signals (Bosch).

My current research projects in Dr. Ben-Yakar's Lab involves the design and construction of an upright Two Photon Microscope for early cancer detection.

My hobbies include piano, orienteering running, and traveling.

I received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in Green Engineering and a Minor in Mathematics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute State University (Virginia Tech), May 2004. I am currently pursuing a Masters and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

My current research interests include packaging and delivery of femtosecond laser pulses for microsurgery and microscopy, early detection of cancer through two-photon microscopy, femtosecond pulse delivery and manipulation through photonic crystal fibers.

My hobbies include backpacking, mountain biking, traveling and reading.