Emerging technologies such as 5G wireless communication and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are transforming how we transmit and process information at unprecedented speeds. Beyond their role in high-speed data networks, these innovations enable the development of advanced sensing systems with exciting applications in healthcare. For example, 5G platforms can support wireless monitoring of vital signs—including heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure—while PIC-based systems can detect and analyze the chemical composition of biological samples, such as saliva, for medical diagnostics. The teacher will explore one of these cutting-edge platforms in the lab.

Faculty Advisor: Doug Petkie | WPI (Physics) 

Teacher Component: By being mentored and working collaboratively with researchers in the lab, the teacher will gain hands-on experience with the fundamentals of these technologies and their connections to core physics concepts taught at different educational levels.  They will also identify a specific health-monitoring challenge and design an experiment to investigate how innovative sensor solutions can address that need.