Manu Prakash (Stanford): Foldscope: Origami Based Paper Microscopes

https://www.ibiology.org/techniques/foldscope/

Talk Overview: What if every person in the world could carry a microscope around in their pocket? That is the idea behind the foldscope, a 50-cent print-and-fold paper mass produced microscope. Foldscopes can be made to perform brightfield, darkfield, fluorescence, and polarization microscopy, and can reach submicron resolution. With applications ranging from global health to citizen science and K-12 education, Manu Prakash and his team’s goal is to get a foldscope in the hands of anyone, anywhere, interested in viewing the microscopic world. Learn more at foldscope.com

Speaker Biography: Manu Prakash is an Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at Stanford University, affiliate of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and a Pew Scholar. His lab applies techniques derived from soft-condensed matter physics, fluid dynamics, computer science, and bioengineering to study the structure and function of biological entities. Prakash was born in Meerut, India, where he earned a BTech in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur. He then did his master’s and PhD in applied physics at MIT before moving to Stanford.