{"id":246766,"date":"2026-06-03T07:15:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=246766"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:23:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:23:06","slug":"nsf-career-award-backs-uconn-research-in-micro-and-nanoscale-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/06\/nsf-career-award-backs-uconn-research-in-micro-and-nanoscale-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"NSF CAREER Award Backs UConn Research in Micro- and Nanoscale Manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"

SeungYeon Kang, an assistant professor in the UConn School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering, is working to transform how microscopic electronic devices are built. This research could help power a new generation of smaller, faster, and more efficient technologies.<\/p>\n

Kang has received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for her project, \u201c3D One-step Heterogeneous Manufacturing for Integrated Circuits (3D OHMIC).\u201d This award will help support her research on advanced manufacturing processes that operate at the micro and nanoscale.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, this project is simple but fundamental,\u201d says Kang. \u201cWe build most electronics in flat, two-dimensional layers, even though the world around us is three-dimensional. This makes devices harder to miniaturize, slower to produce, and more resource-intensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Professional
SeungYeon Kang. (Christopher LaRosa\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is one of the foundation\u2019s most competitive award for early-career faculty. The program recognizes researchers with the potential to serve as academic leaders while also advancing impactful education.<\/p>\n

For Kang, the award supports her research as the intersection of ultrafast laser nanofabrication, light-matter interaction, and energy harvesting, areas that could create new possibilities for producing high-performance electronic and photonic devices.<\/p>\n

Kang\u2019s research aims to overcome these limitations by developing new ways to fabricate tiny structures in three dimensions using ultrafast lasers. Her work combines precision laser processing with advanced materials and manufacturing techniques to create highly detailed microscale and nanoscale structures that would be difficult to produce using traditional methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to develop a fundamental understanding that enables a new type of 3D printing technology that can build complex electronic systems, such as circuits and sensors, directly in three dimensions, in a single step,\u201d says Kang. \u201cThis approach can also be extended to photonics, enabling the creation of integrated optical components and devices with enhanced performance and new functionalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

By rethinking how these structures are made, there is potential to make manufacturing faster, cleaner, and significantly more flexible.<\/p>\n

A key component of the project explores how ultrafast lasers interact with materials at extremely small scales. Kang explains that we can use light as a tool to build materials from the ground up.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram
Schematic illustration created in collaboration with Prof. Jorge Paricio Garcia and Patricio Salomon-Mir. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using ultrafast lasers, researchers can control how light interacts with matter at small dimensions to \u201cwrite\u201d metal structures inside materials with extreme precision. Kang\u2019s team combines this with high-speed 3D printing to push the boundaries of what can be manufactured.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes our approach unique is that we\u2019re not choosing between speed or precision, we\u2019re achieving both in one system,\u201d Kang says. \u201cThat\u2019s something that hasn\u2019t been possible before, and it opens the door to an entirely new way of making devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential applications span a range of industries, from electronics and communications to energy and medicine. The technology could enable devices that are smarter, smaller, and more efficient, including improved sensors, medical implants, and communication devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore broadly, this research supports a shift toward more resilient and sustainable manufacturing,\u201d says Kang. \u201cWe want to produce advanced technologies locally with fewer steps and less material waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education is a big part of this project as well. Kang doesn\u2019t want students to just learn about advanced manufacturing; she wants them to get first-hand experience with it.<\/p>\n

\"Small
A manufactured husky circuit. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Kang\u2019s classes and lab, students design their own 3D-printed structures, connecting advanced engineering theory directly to practice. The NSF CAREER Award will expand these learning experiences by supporting new educational tools and interactive materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll engage with students at all levels,\u201d says Kang. \u201cFrom middle school outreach to graduate research, helping engage and inspire the next generation of innovators.\u201d<\/p>\n

This award is incredibly meaningful to Kang, helping her fully invest in developing this new technology, while also supporting students and a research program that can make long-term contributions to advanced manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving this award isn\u2019t just about funding,\u201d Kang says. \u201cIt\u2019s a strong vote of confidence in both the vision of the research and the potential impact it can have.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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