Adela Ben-Yakar
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Phone: (512) 475-9280
Fax: (512) 471-1045
Email:
ben-yakar@mail.utexas.edu
Dr. Ben-Yakar’s
Web site
Dr. Adela Ben-Yakar earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2000. She joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 2004. Dr. Ben-Yakar is part of the Thermal/Fluid Systems Group.
Dr. Ben-Yakar researches the use of femtosecond lasers, which emit extremely fast pulses of light, for application in life sciences, nonlinear microscopy, nano-engineering and nanotechnology. She investigates how femtosecond laser pulses interact with biological tissues and nanomaterials, and develops techniques for laser nanosurgery and micro- and nanofabrication. For example, Ben-Yakar is studying the effects of femtosecond laser surgery on nerve regeneration processes in roundworms. She also applies imaging techniques such as two-photon fluorescence laser scanning microscopy to early cancer detection, and studies how doctors could use femtosecond laser surgery to treat cancer. For in-vivo clinical applications, Ben-Yakar develops miniaturized endoscopes that combine two-photon imaging with the femtosecond laser microsurgery technique.
Research interests:
- Development of femtosecond laser nanosurgery techniques for manipulation of biological systems
- Two-photon fluorescence laser scanning microscopy
- Development of miniaturized endoscopes for in-vivo cancer detection and treatment
- Applications for nerve regeneration processes, and early cancer detection and treatment