From the Father of MEMS…
“I would like to describe a field, in which little has been done, but in which an enormous amount can be done in principle. This field is not quite the same as the others in that it will not tell us much of fundamental physics (in the sense of, "What are the strange particles?") but it is more like solid-state physics in the sense that it might tell us much of great interest about the strange phenomena that occur in complex situations. Furthermore, a point that is most important is that it would have an enormous number of technical applications…What I want to talk about is the problem of manipulating and controlling things on a small scale.”
-Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize-winning American physicist
Dr. Nazih Hakim is inspired by Dr. Feynman’s original vision of what has become known as MEMS or micro electromechanical systems. Dr. Hakim holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Physics from Northeastern University where he also performed post-doctorate research on micro-fuel cells. Micro-fuel cells require the integration between electrochemistry and MEMS.
Dr. Nazih Hakim of Airing, Inc.
Nazih is one of the very hard working and enthusiastic scientists at Airing. He is working on the implementation of the Airing micro-CPAP device. At Airing, Dr. Hakim focuses on testing and evaluating the functioning of the sub-components of the micro-blowers, which are the heart of the Airing device. He also works as a SEM analyst and helps in the integration of different processes that are used in the fabrication and assembly of the micro-blowers.
When asked about the Airing device, Dr. Hakim explained that it’s easy to describe the functionality of a device, however, getting the micro-blowers of Airing micro-CPAP device to function the way you want, while making it on a small scale is where the challenge lies.
“It is exciting to be working on the miniaturization of micro-blower technology at Airing,” says Dr. Hakim.
He further adds, “Miniaturization is an interesting challenge of the job. I believe that the smaller the device is, the more efficient it can be. For example, MEMS techniques make it possible for various systems to be smaller, faster, more energy-efficient and less expensive. It is a challenging job to make small blowers, but we will do it, and our reward will be helping millions of people who suffer from sleep apnea.”