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Canada Research Chair in Micro/Nanosystem Development, Construction and Validation

In coming from the Massechusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Martel will be applying his expertise in several areas that have been identified as key technological platforms for research at École Polytechnique de Montréal. These areas include medical microsystems, micro and nanosystems, and advanced integration fabrication technologies.

Research Relevance

The use of miniature robots can lay the foundation for new types of industrial and medical applications.

Thinking Small: a New and Tiny Generation of High Technology

One of the biggest ideas in robotic technology is also one of the smallest. Researchers are looking at ways to design automated instrumentation systems that may be no larger than a few molecules. Called microtechnology or nanotechnology, these tiny robots could be recruited for many different industrial or medical tasks, ranging from new manufacturing methods to repairing our bodies from the inside.

As holder of the Canada Research Chair in Conception, Fabrication and Validation of Micro/Nanosystems, Sylvain Martel will use nanotechnology such as miniature probes to explore the sub-atomic structure of new materials. Other projects will be made possible by the techniques he employs, such as the design of chips that could be implants in the body and of small modules that would be capable of carrying out detailed chemical analysis on samples.

This research program builds upon several major accomplishments that have highlighted Dr. Martel’s career. He devised a virtual reality control system for conducting microsurgery which simulates the pressures and forces a surgeon would feel while operating. Similarly, he developed a revolutionary new type of control board for use in a computer at a major hospital in Los Angeles, which after six years of operation, has never needed maintenance.

Sylvain Martel, Associate professor
Computer Engineering and Software Engineering Départment
(514) 340-4711 ext. 5098
sylvain.martel@polymtl.ca