Ben Hawkins

Ben Hawkins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), College of Engineering. His research lies at the intersection of biomedical, electrical, and mechanical engineering with a strong focus on microfluidic systems and bio-sensing technologies.

His educational background includes a BS in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Fresno, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University. His doctoral work under Prof. Brian Kirby explored dielectrophoresis for mycobacteria analysis in microfluidic environments.

• BS in Electrical Engineering – CSU, Fresno (2005)
• Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering – Cornell University (2011)

His research interests include microfluidics, electrokinetics, dielectrophoresis, biosensors, microfabrication, and electromagnetics, with applications in studying bacterial biofilms and evaluating antibiotic treatments. These interdisciplinary interests bridge engineering principles with clinical microbiology.

Throughout his career, he has maintained a consistent focus on developing microscale tools for biological analysis, beginning with inductive power transfer during undergrad, advancing to electrokinetic manipulation in graduate school, and continuing with biofilm growth studies at NIST and San Jose State University.

Professor Hawkins served as a faculty member at San Jose State University from 2012 to 2016 in the Biomedical, Chemical, and Materials Engineering Department before joining Cal Poly. He previously held a Research Fellow position at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), supported by the National Academy of Sciences.

There are no scientific awards listed in the available text.

He advises graduate students as the Graduate Coordinator (implied by his grad email), and his work involves interdisciplinary projects integrating electrical, mechanical, and biomedical engineering. While specific grants are not mentioned, his research trajectory suggests sustained funding in microfluidic bioengineering.

His lab work centers on microfluidic platforms for bacterial biofilm studies and antibiotic testing, likely involving student-led senior projects and graduate research within Cal Poly's Biomedical Engineering facilities.