Academics

Materials science student Bolotsky earns Graduate School alumni scholarship

Adam Bolotsky, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, was awarded the Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School from the Graduate School. His research is under Aida Ebrahimi, an assistant professor of electrical engineering. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Adam Bolotsky, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, was awarded the Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School from the Graduate School.

The scholarship is given to top graduate students who are Penn State alums.

Bolotsky researches ways to improve and invent devices for biomedical and environmental applications, particularly medical monitoring devices delivered at the point of care, meaning administered to or inserted within the patient.

Bolotsky said it’s the interdisciplinary approach to the research and the broad public health ramifications that get him excited about the work he does. 

“I believe in the meaningfulness of the work,” Bolotsky said. “The advances in biosensing and bioanalysis have led to — and will continue to lead to — very real and impactful quality-of-life improvements. Especially in times such as these, it is all the more obvious that sensitive, reliable, and inexpensive biosensing and biomedical technologies are essential for optimal care, both at the personal and societal levels.”

He is a member of the Ebrahimi Bioanalytical and Biosensor Engineering (E-Bio-E) Lab, which is run by Aida Ebrahimi, assistant professor of electrical engineering, where he works on creating, characterizing, developing and improving electrochemically-active materials to create affordable and effective biosensors. The E-Bio-E lab group relies on expertise spanning fields such as device engineering, materials engineering, applied physics, nanotechnology and life sciences. 

In one project, Bolotsky is helping develop sensors for monitoring the viability of bacteria and its susceptibility to antibiotic treatment. In another project, recently funded by the National Institutes of Health, the group is developing an electronic chip platform based on 2D materials capable of detailing bacterial functions.

Bolotsky wants to make biosensing materials that are more effective, impactful and accessible for people who will benefit from the improved technologies. He’s hoping that his education will put him closer to his goal of working in the biomedical and development industry. 

“Penn State, through financial support, academic rigor, research expertise, and student resources, is helping me achieve those research goals, and I am very grateful,” Bolotsky said.

Bolotsky graduated as a Schreyer Scholar with a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Penn State in 2017.

The Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School provides recognition and financial assistance to students who have been admitted to the Graduate School at Penn State as candidates for a graduate degree and who received their undergraduate degree from the University.

Last Updated May 22, 2020

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