Brian Hemond

Research

Brian is working on developing a novel low-power consumption impact ionization source to be used at the heart of a miniature, inexpensive mass spectrometer. The research is currently focused on designing materials with work functions that are lower than that of the conventional mass spectrometer ionization source, the inefficient tungsten filament.

In addition, Brian is working on the MICA project, which is a wireless real-time insturmentation system designed for use in academic and educational settings. The MICA system consists of a control platform (e.g. a laptop) and an array of wirelessly linked miniature high performance MEMS sensors and actuators. Since no existing wireless standards can sustain the high data rates and low latencies required for real-time wireless data acquisition and control, recent work has focused on developing a custom network stack.

Earlier work involved the design and construction of the hardware on which the network stack operates. At the heart of each node is an ARM Cortex-M3 processor, operating a 2.4GHz radio, 64x64 dot organic-LED display, 3-axis accelerometer, speaker and audio codec, lithium-polymer battery, and a different sensor or actuator.

Academic Background

• 2006-Present: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

PhD., Mechanical Engineering

• 2004-2006: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

M.Eng., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

• 2000-2004: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

B.S., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Publications

• McEuen, S. D. Tzeranis, B. Hemond, M. Dirckx, L. Lee, A. Slocum. (2008). Design of an Endoscopic Full-Thickness Lesion Removal Device, ASME Journal of Medical Devices. Volume 2, Issue 1, 015002.

• Hemond, B.D, D.M. Wendell, C. Hogan, A.J. Taberner, I.W. Hunter. (2006). A Lorentz-Force Actuated Autoloading Needle-free Injector. Proc. 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2006, pp 679-682.

• Wendell, D.M., B.D. Hemond, N.C. Hogan, A.J. Taberner, I.W. Hunter. (2006). The Effect of Jet Parameters on Jet Injection, Proc. 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2006, pp 5005-5008.

• Hogan, N.C., B.D. Hemond, D.W. Wendell, A.J. Taberner, and I.W. Hunter, Delivery of Active Collagenase to Skin Using a Lorentz-Force Actuated Needle-Free Injector, Proc. 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2006, pp 5611-5616.

Patents

• Controlled Needle-Free Transport, US Application #20060258986.
• Controlled Needle-Free Eye Injector, US Application #20070129693.
• Controlled Needle-Free Transport, US Application #20070191758.
• Surface Injection Device, US Application #20080009788.

Other activities

Brian served as photography editor of MIT's student newspaper, The Tech, from 2002 to 2005. In his free time he enjoys photography, running and sailing. He maintains a photography website at http://web.mit.edu/bhemond/www/photo/