SU graduate Canan Dağdeviren is Recognized as an Honoree of MIT Technology Review’s Annual INNOVATORS UNDER 35 List
Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program 2009 alumnus Canan Dağdeviren added a new achievement to her long line of success.
MIT Technology Review reveals its annual list of Innovators Under 35. For over a decade, the global media company has recognized a list of exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. For her work in the field of nanotechnology and materials, Canan Dagdeviren of Sabanci University’s 2009 Alumna has been recognized as an inventor on the list.
Dr. Dagdeviren has developed flexible nano-generators that convert mechanical energy from internal organ movements into electric energy to power medical devices. These first-of-their-kind devices, a new class of biocompatible piezoelectric mechanical energy harvesters (PZT MEHs), are soft and flexible with extremely low bending stiffness, which allows them to conform to and laminate on the heart as well as on other soft tissues. Under the rhythmic contraction of the heart muscle, the device bends and relaxes, which supplies enough trickle charge – a steady stream of charging current at low rate – to satisfy the needs of a pacemaker. This technology could extend the battery life of implanted medical devices or even eliminate the need of battery replacement, sparing patients from repeated operations and the risk of surgical complications.
This year’s honorees will be featured online at www.technologyreview.com starting today, and in the September/October print magazine, which hits newsstands worldwide on September 1. They will appear in person at the upcoming EmTech MIT conference November 2–4 in Cambridge, Massachusetts (www.EmTechMIT.com).
About MIT Technology Review
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