2012 Excellence in Research Prize and Medal Recipient

October 4, 2012

Reginald C. Farrow, Ph.D., a research professor of physics at New Jersey Institute of Technology, is affiliated with the Biophysics and Materials Science Programs. Dr. Farrow's research explores the interface between nanotechnology and biophysics and biomedical engineering. His primary focus is to develop a method to investigate the fundamental properties of biological cells at the nanoscale using an array of carbon nanotube probes.

Dr. Farrow's goal is to further our understanding of how cells communicate both internally and with other cells. This communication drives the individual and collective function of the cells at the most basic level. Dr. Farrow and his team have used the same carbon nanotube array platform to fabricate the world’s smallest biofuel cell which may be used in the future to power in vivo versions of the nanoprobe array and other biomedical devices. Three patents have been awarded based on Dr. Farrow’s research at NJIT and others are pending.

Dr. Farrow's experience in nanofabrication that he obtained as a scientist at Bell Laboratories is particularly well suited for the development of such advanced devices. However, to realize the ultimate goals, he has brought together a multidisciplinary team from five institutions whose expertise includes biophysics, chemistry, biology, biomedical engineering, materials science, and electrical engineering. Over seven years

his research programs have provided funding for eight faculty, three postdoctoral fellows, nine graduate students, and five undergraduates from sources that include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. Dr. Farrow was the President and Conference Chair of the 2012 International Symposium on Electron, Ion, and Photon Beams and Nanofabrication.

He obtained a BS in physics from the University of Rochester, a master's degree in physics from Rutgers University, a Ph.D. in physics from Stevens Institute of Technology and joined NJIT in 2004 after over 25 years at Bell Labs.