Professor Nathan Cady
Principal Investigator

Prof. Cady obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He is currently an Empire Innovation Professor at the College of Nanoscale Science (SUNY Poly). Prof. Cady has active research interests in the development of novel biosensor technologies, nano-bio interfaces, and biology-inspired nanoelectronics. Prof. Cady is also the Executive Director of the SUNY Applied Materials Research Institute (SAMRI - https://www.suny.edu/samri/). SAMRI is a strategic alliance between the State University of New York (SUNY) and Applied Materials, Inc. that will serve as the nucleus of research and development activities on advanced materials, devices, manufacturing, and emerging areas of science and technology.

Minhaz Abedin
Graduate Student

Minhaz Abedin graduated from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh, with a B.S in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. His undergraduate research focused on designing and characterizing CMOS Image Sensors. His research interest is in both nanoscale switching devices and sensors. Currently he is pursuing his master’s degree and his research includes integration of microfluidics and silicon photonic sensors for Lab On a Chip. Apart from research, he enjoys volunteering to outreach and humanitarian activities.

Karsten Bechmann, Ph.D.
SUNY Poly Adjunct Faculty / NYCREATES Integration Engineer

Karsten Beckmann received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering and information technology from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, in 2011 and 2013, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in nanoscale engineering from the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), University at Albany (now SUNY Polytechnic Institute). He is currently a Senior Process Integration Engineer with NY CREATES and an adjunct faculty member of SUNY Poly working on emerging memory solutions with a focus on resistive devices and selector technology. His strong background spans interdisciplinary fields combining material science, nanofabrication, and electrical engineering with a focus in electrical testing (DC, RF, and automated testing), module integration into a 65 nm technology, and materials development (ReRAM, selector, electrodes)

Dwiti Krushna Das
Graduate Student

Dwiti Krushna Das obtained his B.Sc. in Physics from UM-DAE Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai and M.Sc. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Mumbai. His master’s research involved electrochemical sensors for detection of neurotransmitters. Currently he is pursuing PhD working on biosensors for detection of Lyme disease. His research interest lies in the field of Biosensors, Nanosensors and Neuroengineering. He also has interests in the fields of astronomy, physics, philosophy, photography and technology.

Maximilian Liehr, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Researcher

Maximilian Liehr obtained his BA and MEng from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and his Ph. D. from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, NY. He is currently a post doc at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Maximilian Liehr has active research interests in development of Non-volatile nanoelectronics including Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM) devices and neuromorphic computing.

Rajas Ravindra Mathkari
Graduate Student

Rajas Mathkari obtained his BE degree from the Deogiri Institute of Engineering and Management Studies, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, in Mechanical Engineering. He has 4.5 years of work experience at Goodyear South Asia Pvt. Ltd in the field of focus improvement and Industrial engineering. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate, and his research focuses on the fabrication of tantalum oxide nonvolatile resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) devices using reactive sputtering and its electrical characterization.

Jacob Pelton
Research Technician

Jacob Pelton received a BS in Applied Physics from Siena College located in Loudonville, NY. Recently, after graduating in 2022, he started working as a Research Technician at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, NY. He is currently expressing interest in continuing his education in fall of 2023 at SUNY Polytechnic Institute for a MS degree in nano-scale engineering.

Pramod Ravindra, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Researcher

Pramod completed his PhD at the Centre for Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc Bangalore, focused on materials for photovoltaics. Pramod also has a Master's in Physics and an undergraduate degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani, India. Prior to his current position, he worked as a Staff Engineer at Western Digital, where he focused on the reliability of 3D NAND flash memories. His research interests include non-volatile memories, beyond-CMOS devices, and materials.

Jeelka Solanki
Graduate Student

Jeelka graduated with a master’s degree from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India specializing in Embedded systems with hardware design and software programming in 2015. Her undergraduate research was majorly in designing a hardware based on microcontroller for bag making machine in the field of Electronics and Communications. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Nanoscale science and Engineering. With her constant interest and experience in designing hardware and software programming, she is working on designing hardware for programming RRAM devices in the packaged form building a bridge between characterization and real-world applications like Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Jeelka has active research interests in the latest non-volatile memory technology namely RRAM and its in-memory computing techniques which demonstrates neuromorphic computing.

Benjamin Taubner
Research Technician

Benjamin Taubner graduated with a BSE and MSE with a biomedical engineering specialization from Mercer University, in Macon, GA. His research interests include diagnostic technologies, microfluidics, and biomechanics. He joined the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in 2020, where he is currently a research technician working on a GC-FP Lyme diagnostic biosensor. He has worked on the technology’s adaptation to COVID-19, and looks forward to developing the project to its full potential.

Natalya Tokranova, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

Dr. Natalya Tokranova received M.S. degree from Leningrad Electrical Engineering Institute specializing in optoelectronic devices in 1987 and her Ph. D. degree in Physics in 1996 from A. F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute. She worked from 1987 to 2000 in the A. F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St.-Petersburg, Russia. From 2000 she has been working in the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Tokranova has more than twenty-five years of experience in the semiconductor fabrication technology. Her expertise covers design, fabrication and characterization of silicon semiconductor and MEMS devices and various types of sensors.

Steven Wood
Senior Director of Technology Applications Development

Steven has obtained a B.A. in Geology, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, J.D. (US registered patent attorney) and an Advanced LL.M. in Air and Space Law from Leiden University. Steven started his career at the New York State Science and Technology Law Center, and has previously worked as a patent examiner at the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and in technology transfer offices at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Leiden University and most recently as Associate Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the SUNY Research Foundation, where he built an in-house patent practice to serve nearly 30 undergraduate and R1 doctoral degree granting institutions in the SUNY system. Since joining Dr. Cady’s NeuroPipes research group in October of 2021, Steven has participated in multiple DoD business accelerator programs, including the Fall 2021 cohort of the Hyperspace Challenge sponsored by CNM Ingenuity and AFRL NM Space Vehicles Directorate, where he led the team in winning 2nd Prize in the university cohort pitch competition, the summer 2022 cohort of the National Security Innovation Network Foundry program, and the inaugural cohort of the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator sponsored by the Griffiss Institute and the AFRL Rome Information Directorate. Steven is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Albany Law School, the nation’s oldest independent school of law, and a contract attorney as Senior of Counsel with the Vela Wood Law Firm in Austin, TX, where he focuses his practice on IP strategy and vetting investments in technology and patent portfolios.

Zachery Woods
Graduate Student

Zachery Woods graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 with a B.S in Electrical Engineering and worked for 2 years as a test engineer for Raytheon Technologies. His current research is developing logic function applications using Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM) devices.