I was born in China and moved to Macau where I attended primary and secondary school at the Instituto Salesiano, an engineering and technology oriented school in Macau. To continue my education in engineering, I came to the States for my B.S. degree, majored in Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and finished my bachelor study with summa cum laude. Following a rich interest in fluid mechanics and being fascinated by the Micro/Nanotechnology field, I decided to devote my graduate-level study in Micro/Nanotechnology and joined the Micro Systems laboratories under the supervision of Professor Ho at UCLA. During graduate study, I focused on developing integrated micro/nanoscale biosystems and biodevices for microbiological and biomedical applications. In 2009, I received my Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2009. I am currently working as a postdoc for Professor Ho on an exciting project focused on nonlinear chemical oscillator, the Belousov Zhabotinsky reaction, based intelligence.
Research Intereststop
My research interests include Surface Chemistry, Surface Nanolithography, Micro/Nanofluidics, Single Cell Microbiology, and Nonlinear Chemical Oscillators – Belousov Zhabotinsky (BZ) Reactions. My graduate study is devoted to the development of integrated micro/nano systems for single cell microbiology study. Significance of single cell microbiology stems from the substantial temporal fluctuations and cell-cell variability possessed by individual cells. With the advantage on the physical dimensions of the toolsets micro/nanotechnology offered, the movements, morphologies, colonial organizations, and extracellular micro-environments, of individual microbial cells, can be manipulated. These advances can bring new capabilities to quantitative microbiology, enhancing our fundamental understanding on single cell variability and generating new quantitative information for systems and synthetic biology. During my graduate study, I developed a versatile fluidic platform for long term single-cell tracking and cultivation with dynamic chemical perturbation capability, which was applied for the studies of a transcription- metabolism integrated synthetic gene-metabolic oscillator and biofuel orienteded cell morphology. Futhermore, I developed a single-cell microarray microfluidic platform based on the integration of surface nanolithography generated bacteria immobilization sites and air-liquid interface assisted in-channel bacteria patterning. I in parallel developed a new surface modification technique for creating high density protein/cell array, by implementing a combined merit from soft molding lithography and surface chemistry. In addition, I have collaboratively explored various functional biomedical micro/nanodevices, including biomaterial based electrokinetic stem cell array microdevice, surface enhanced Raman Spectroscopy based bioassay, Direct Simulated Monte Carlo (DSMC) based micro/nanofluidics.Currently in my postdoc research, I am focused on exploring intelligent system based on chemical nonlinear oscillator, the Belousov Zhabotinsky reaction, aiming to understand and develop nature-inspired complex intelligent systems. Modern computers and digital electronics are pervasive in our daily lives. However, the digital operation under the control of a CPU inevitably poses a serious bottleneck for processing biochemical information which is continuous in nature. This type of continuous information are easily found in living organisms, where parallel computations are routinely carried out in the absence of any timing clock to sense external information, make decisions, and act optimally in proper order. My postdoc study pertained on exploring complex intelligent functions from natural complex systems, allowing a better understanding of the information processing in natural systems, with an ultimate goal in developing natural-inspired intelligent devices that silicon-based computation cannot achieve.
Educationtop
Field: Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems/Nanotechnology
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 2003-2009
Advisor: Chih-Ming Ho, Ph.D.
Dissertation: Integrated Micro Devices for Single-Cell Microbiology Studies
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 1999-2003
summa cum laude
Awards: Outstanding Bachelor of Science
#1 of the year, highest honor from UCLA School of Engineering
Southern California Aerospace Coordinating Committee Scholarship
Work Experiencetop
Postdoctoral Researcher (2009-Present)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles
• Integrated opto-chemical Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) system micmicking neuronal activitiesGraduate Student Researcher (2003-2009)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles
• Surface chemistry and surface micro/nano lithography for biomedical applications (2005-2010)
• Integrated microfluidic system for dynamic observation and stimulation of single cell microbiology (2008-2009)
Teaching Assistant (2004)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles
MAE102, Course Title: Fluid Mechanics
• Planned and led weekly discussion sections
• Held office hours, graded assignments, and proctored examsTeaching Assistant (2000-2001)
Mathematics Department, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA
• Assisted instructors during lectures
• Graded assignments and exams, held office hours
Publicationstop
Journal Publicationstop
1. Wong I. and Ho C.-M., “Surface Molecular Property Modifications for Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) Based Microfluidic Devices”, Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, vol. 7, pp. 291-306 (2009).
[Most Downloaded Article of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics; Real Time Download Statistics as of Apr 29th, 2011.]
[Reported in the official Watch Report by The Observatory for Micro and Nano Technologies (OMNT), a joint unit of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), Category: Micro & NanoSystems for Biology, N° 40, Dec 2009]
2. Wong I., Atsumi S., Huang W.-C., Wu T.-Y., Hanai T., Lam M.-L., Tang P., Yang J., Liao J.-C., and Ho C.-M., “An agar gel membrane-PDMS hybrid microfluidic device for long term single cell dynamic study”, Lab on a Chip, vol. 10, pp. 2710-2719 (2010).
3. Wong I. and C.-M. Ho, “Soft Contact Molding: Co-patterning Functional Monolayers on Glass Surface”, submitted.
4. Wong I., Ding X.T., Wu C.S., Ho C.-M., “Accurate and Effective Live Bacteria Microarray Patterning on Thick
Polycationic Polymer Layer Co-Patterned with HMDS”, RSC Advances, in press (2012).
5. Zhang G.M., Wong I., Chou M.-T., Zhao X., “Towards Constructing Multi-Bit Binary Adder Based on Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction”, Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 136, pp. 164108 (2012).
6. Tsutsui H., Yu E., Marquina S., Valamehr B., Wong I., Wu H., and Ho C.-M., “Efficient Dielectrophoretic Patterning of Embryonic Stem Cells in Energy Landscapes Defined by Hydrogel Geometries”, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 38, pp. 3777-3788 (2010).
7. Yue Z.C., Zhuang F.F., Kumar R., Wong I., Cronin S.B, and Liu Y.-H., “Cell Kinase Activity Assay Based on Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy”, Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, vol. 73, pp.226-230 (2009).
8. Ye J.J., Yang J., Zheng J.Y., Wong I., and Lam C.K., “Using Direct Simulation Monte Carlo with Improved Boundary Conditions for Heat and Mass Transfer in Microchannel”, Journal of Heat Transfer, vol. 132, pp.041008 (2010).
9. Yang J., Ye J.J., Zheng J.Y., Wong I., Ma Y.B., Lam C.K., Link S., “Improving DSMC with New Pressure Boundary Conditions for Heat and Mass Transfer of Microchannel Flows”, Nanoscale and Microscale Thermophysical Engineering, vol.13, pp.165-183 (2009).
10. Tang P., Yang J., Zheng J.Y., Lam C. K., Wong I., He S.Z., “Predicting Erosion-Corrosion Induced by the Interactions Between Multiphase Flow and Structure in Piping System”, Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology. vol. 131, 061301 (2009).
11. Tang P., Yang J., Zheng J.Y., Ou G.F., He S.Z., Ye J.J., Wong I., Ma Y.B., “Erosion-corrosion failure of REAC pipes under multiphase flow”, Frontiers of Energy and Power Engineering in China, vol. 3, pp.389-395, (2009).
12. Tang P., Yang J., Zheng J.Y., Wong I., He S.Z., Ye J.J., Ou G.F., “Failure analysis and prediction of pipes due to the interaction between multiphase flow and structure”, Engineering Failure Analysis, vol.16, pp.1749-1756, (2009).
Conference Publications
1. Wong I. and Ho C.-M., “Self Assembled Monolayer Patterning Using Capillary Force Lithography”, IEEE Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS), pp.558-561, Istanbul, Turkey, January 22-26 (2006).
2. Wong P.K., Tan W., Wong I., Ho C.-M., “Microfluidics for Probing Cell-Microenvironment Dynamics”, The International Conference on Bio-Nano-Informatics Fusion (BNIF), Marina del Rey, USA (2005).
3. Ye J., Yang J., Zheng J., Xu P., Lam C.K., Wong I., Ma Y.B., “Effects of Wall Temperature on the Heat and Mass Transfer in Microchannels using the DSMC Method”, Proceedings of the 4th IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS ’09), pp. 666-671, Shenzhen, China, January 5-8 (2009).
4. Tang P., Yang J. Ye J.J., Zheng J.Y., Lam C.K., Wong I., Ma Y.B., “Using the Improved DSMC Method to Predict the Reliability of Micro-flow Channels”, Proceedings of the 4th IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS ’09), pp. 353-358, Shenzhen, China, January 5-8 (2009).
5. Ye J.J., Yang J., Wong I., Ding X.T., Zheng J.Y., Li W.Z., Chen C., “Multiscale Dynamic Analysis on the Structure of a Porous Silicon-based Membrane for Micro-fuel Cells”, The 8th International Symposium on New Materails and Nano-materials for Electrochemical Systems, Shanghai, China (2010).
Patentstop
International PCT Application: PCT/US2007/001600, PCT Publication No.: WO/2007/089464,
Jan 2007. Inventor: Ieong Wong2. “A Fast, High Throughput Method for Single Bacterial Patterning on Glass Surface”,
US Patent Pending, UCLA Case No. 2011-042, July 2010. Inventors: Ieong Wong, Xianting Ding,
Chih-Ming Ho3. “Synthesizing uniform AgI nanoparticles with complexant-free combinatorial surfactants”
US Patent Pending. Inventor: Jian Yang, Xian Ting Ding, Ieong Wong, Chih-Ming Ho (2010)
Awards, Honors, and Scholarshipstop
1. Fellowship from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, UCLA, 2003
2. Outstanding Bachelor of Science Degree Award, Aerospace Engineering, UCLA, 2003
3. Southern California Aerospace Coordinating Committee Scholarship, UCLA, 2002-2003
4. Dean’s Honor List, School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA, 2001-2003
5. Dean’s Honor List, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California, 1999-2001
6. Outstanding achievement on AMATYC (American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges)
mathematic contest, Pasadena City College (2001)
Contact Infotop
Mailing Address:
44-121 Engineering IV
420 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Phone: 310-825-8275
Fax: 310-825-1350
Email: leffer at ucla.edu