Shih-Kang "Scott" Fan | Professor
Ph.D. – 2003, University of California, Los Angeles
Mechanical Engineering
M.S. – 2001, University of California, Los Angeles
Mechanical Engineering
B.S. – 1996, National Central University, Taiwan
Mechanical Engineering
Contact information
3013 Rathbone Hall
785-532-5610
skfan@k-state.edu
Professional experience
Shih-Kang Fan received his B.S. degree from National Central University, Taiwan in 1996, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2001 and 2003, respectively, all in mechanical engineering. In 2004 he joined the faculty at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan as an assistant professor and was promoted to an associate professor in the Institute of Nanotechnology and the department of material sciences. From 2012-19 he was with the department of mechanical engineering and the Center for Biotechnology at National Taiwan University, Taiwan as an associate professor, professor and distinguished professor. He is now a professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University. Fan is an RSC fellow and founder of a start-up company.
Research
Fan’s research involves an electromicrofluidic (EMF) platform that bridges gaps and demonstrates novel microfluidics on a single chip with electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) and dielectrophoresis (DEP) to manipulate unlike objects:
- of broad electric conductivities (water, oil and crosslinkable prepolymer droplets)
- on wide scales (mm droplets and μm particles/cells)
- in distinct phases (solid, liquid, gas and plasma)
- with adjustable geometries (deformable droplets and continuous liquid columns)
He studies in vitro diagnosis (IVD) for molecular and immunoassays with EMF mechatronic systems-integrating hardware (Si sensor/actuator dies) and embedded software as well as advanced manufacturing using crosslinkable droplets on EMF to construct heterogeneous architectures:
- for tissue engineering and soft robots with reorganized cells and Si dies in biomaterials or hydrogels
- for metamaterials with designed properties for varied applications including enhanced heat transfer
Another area of interest is energy harvesting on EMF with reversed effects to generate electricity from liquid movements.
Academic highlights
Fan is known for his contributions in electrowetting, electromicrofluidics, tissue engineering and in vitro diagnosis. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Research Award (Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, 2017), TBF Chair in Biotechnology (Taiwan Bio-Development Foundation, 2015), Young Scholar's Creativity Award (Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship, 2014), Research Award for Junior Research Investigators (Academia Sinica, 2012), Ta-You Wu Memorial Award (National Science Council, Taiwan, 2011), and several teaching awards (NTU, 2015; NCTU, 2011, 2010). He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2016. Currently he is serving on the editorial advisory board for Biomicrofluidics and on the editorial board for Micromachines. In addition to his academic accomplishments, he is also active in professional societies and conferences. He was general chair of the International Conference on Optofluidics in 2015 and the International Meeting on Electrowetting in 2016.