Yu Sun

Biography

Yu Sun is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE) and is jointly appointed in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Toronto (U of T). He is the Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Engineering Systems. Professor Sun is a former Director of U of T’s central Nanofabrication Centre. He received his PhD degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2003. His postdoc training was at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich). His Advanced Micro and Nanosystems Lab designs and constructs enabling micro and nanosystems (e.g., micro-nano robotic systems and MEMS/microfluidic devices) for automated operation at the micro and nanometer scales. The team manipulates, characterizes, and senses cells, molecules, and nanomaterials for both fundamental studies (e.g., mechanobiology, development biology, and nanomechanics) and clinical/industrial applications (IVF cell surgery, rare cell isolation, blood cell testing, drug screen, and precision instrumentation for industrial automation). Sun is on the editorial boards of several IEEE Transactions, two Nature sponsored journals (Scientific Reports; Microsystems & Nanoengineering), and the IoP Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. He was the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Academic Early Career Award recipient in 2010 “for contributions to enabling microrobotic and MEMS technologies for automated cell manipulation and characterization in cell biology and clinical applications”. In 2013, he was awarded an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship as one of the six awardees selected from across all fields of natural sciences and engineering across Canada. He was elected Fellow of CSME (Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering), EIC (Engineering Institute of Canada), AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and CAE (Canadian Academy of Engineering) for his work on micro-nano devices and robotic systems. Yu Sun is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE) and is jointly appointed in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Toronto (U of T). He is the Canada Research Chair in Micro and Nano Engineering Systems. Professor Sun is a former Director of U of T’s central Nanofabrication Centre. He received his PhD degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2003. His postdoc training was at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich). His Advanced Micro and Nanosystems Lab designs and constructs enabling micro and nanosystems (e.g., micro-nano robotic systems and MEMS/microfluidic devices) for automated operation at the micro and nanometer scales. The team manipulates, characterizes, and senses cells, molecules, and nanomaterials for both fundamental studies (e.g., mechanobiology, development biology, and nanomechanics) and clinical/industrial applications (IVF cell surgery, rare cell isolation, blood cell testing, drug screen, and precision instrumentation for industrial automation). Sun is on the editorial boards of several IEEE Transactions, two Nature sponsored journals (Scientific Reports; Microsystems & Nanoengineering), and the IoP Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. He was the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Academic Early Career Award recipient in 2010 “for contributions to enabling microrobotic and MEMS technologies for automated cell manipulation and characterization in cell biology and clinical applications”. In 2013, he was awarded an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship as one of the six awardees selected from across all fields of natural sciences and engineering across Canada. He was elected Fellow of CSME (Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering), EIC (Engineering Institute of Canada), AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and CAE (Canadian Academy of Engineering) for his work on micro-nano devices and robotic systems.

Research Interest

Biomedical Engineering Robotics, Mechatronics and Instrumentation