Euisik Yoon named William G. Dow Collegiate Professor of EECS

Euisik Yoon has been named the William G. Dow Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, effective May 1, 2025.

Yoon has done pioneering research in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for various applications, including integrated sensors, RF MEMS, Optical MEMS and BioMEMS. His primary areas of focus have been optogenetic neural probes for brain research and microfluidic biochips to aid the treatment of cancer patients. He provided unique opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students to participate in the research and led major international programs to spread his neural probe technology.

Building off the legacy of the Michigan Probes that were initially developed by his colleague and former doctoral advisor Kensall D. Wise, the William Gould Dow Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Yoon has continued to drive advances in neural probe technology.

He integrated light sources on neural probes to combine optogenetics (use of light to control cellular activity) and electrophysiology (a method to measure electrical activity in cells). Yoon was able to validate the device functionality of modulating neurons at cellular levels in animal studies. This opened a new path to advance the science for precisely mapping the neural circuits and understanding how the brain works. Yoon’s research was recognized by Microsystems & Nanoengineering in 2020 with an Outstanding Paper Award for research published in 2018, and the collaborative work was reported in Science 2022.

Yoon’s group then scaled the micro-LED probes to an unprecedented level, incorporating more than 128 optical stimulation sites with 256 neural signal recording electrodes. This achievement enabled large-scale, high-resolution analysis of wide-ranging, densely-populated brain circuits. With these hectoSTAR probes, neuroscientists are able to record a greater area of the brain while recording interactions between areas; this ability is expected to lead to important insights into treating neurological disorders.

Sharing this technology with the world is one of Yoon’s guiding principles.

Yoon disseminated his microLED probes to the scientific community under the NSF NeuroNex Hub called Multimodal Integrated Neural Technologies (MINT), which he established in 2017. More than 100 labs have used this technology. 

For nine years, 2015-2024, Yoon directed the International Program for the Advancement of Neurotechnology (IPAN), which brought together researchers from around the world to accelerate the development of a hardware and software system that will aid the work of neuroscientists to study the brain. IPAN sponsored an annual bootcamp for students who then spent the summer learning about the technology in the international partners labs in Germany and Korea.

And finally, his probe technology was translated to Neurolight Technologies, an Ann Arbor spin-off company he co-founded with Wise. Neurolight Technologies provides advanced versions of the technology to the user community. 

In all of his neural work, Yoon has worked closely with neuroscientists to ensure the usefulness of his devices. For example, he has a long-standing collaboration with György Buzsáki, the Biggs Professor of Neuroscience at New York University.

Yoon’s second primary area of research has focused on microfluidic biochips. These Hydro-seq biochips provide a way to separate out individual cancer cells from a blood sample. The cancer cells can then be genetically profiled, which could help doctors target tumors and monitor treatments more effectively. This technology is being used for preclinical studies of breast and prostate cancer patients. Patients with metastatic cancer can be tested with a simple blood draw rather than undergoing painful biopsies.

Recently, Yoon extended this technology to profile the whole transcriptome of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from breast cancer patients, which is the first microfluidic chip that allows for high-throughput single cell RNA-sequence of CTCs.

Yoon has also made important contributions to bio-inspired imaging microsystems. For example, he demonstrated the self-powered image sensor and the world’s smallest low-power image sensor chip, capable of operating like insect eyes for guidance and motion control in miniaturized airborne platforms. 

A leader in the professional community, Yoon has been actively involved in planning the programs for the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) and the IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), and he served on the IEEE International Solid-State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) program committee. He also organized and co-chaired the International Conference for Advanced Neurotechnology (ICAN) for five years.

In addition to his primary appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yoon is affiliated with the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. He is also affiliated with Michigan Neuroscience Institute. He has served as Director of the Solid-State Electronics Laboratory and the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. Yoon has received the College of Engineering Monroe-Brown Foundation Research Excellence Award and Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award. He is an IEEE Fellow.

About William Gould Dow (1895-1999)

William Gould Dow (M.S.E. Electrical Engineering 1929) was one of the department’s most influential leaders. He was instrumental in establishing the university’s Willow Run Research Laboratories and initiated several research programs in the Electrical Engineering Department, including the Plasma Engineering Laboratory and the Space Physics Research Laboratory. He helped found the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) and served on its board of directors until 1990. 

Professor Dow was a pioneer in electronic engineering education. He introduced into the curriculum vacuum tube and nuclear theories, and the use of solid-state devices and computers. He introduced a course in Industrial Electronics which focused on the use of thyratrons and ignitrons in Michigan manufacturing industries. He also introduced new graduate courses, and taught extension courses for engineers in industry. In 1937, he published a classic textbook on electronics, Fundamentals of Engineering Electronics, which remained a standard for many years. During the mid 1950’s, he was active in establishing the Nuclear Engineering Department and incorporating instruction in computer engineering into the electrical engineering curriculum. He received the IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal in 1963.

During the 1940’s, Dow took a leave of absence to work directly in support of the war effort at the Harvard Radio Research Laboratory. The laboratory was dedicated to finding effective radar countermeasures, including both jamming of enemy radar signals and determining the location of enemy radar installations. The radar-jamming countermeasures Dow worked on were nearly 100% effective, and were credited with saving the lives of many Allied pilots.

Dow was a charter member of the Rocket and Satellite Research Panel, a group of 27 distinguished scientists and engineers who guided the nation’s space program through its infancy. Dow and three other Michigan faculty were among the group who traveled to Washington in 1957 to urge the funding of scientific exploration in space. They asked for $10B over the span of a decade to explore outer space. Less than a year later, NASA was formed.

Professor Dow served as Chair of the department between 1958-1965. He continued his research throughout his life, filing his last patent at the age of 100.