Materials Research Science and Engineering Center

Hands-On Introduction to Microfluidics Technology

Tentative 2025 date: June 23-27, 2025

Introduction to Microfluidics Technology is a hands-on laboratory course sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Bioinspired Soft Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Brandeis. This one-week course takes place during the summer and is intended for graduate students, post-docs, faculty and industrial scientists/engineers interested in utilizing microfluidic technology in their work, both in the physical and life sciences. Enrollment is limited to 12 to ensure the 3 instructors can provide intensive, individualized instruction.

The course fee is $2000, which covers breakfast, lunch, materials, a group dinner on Monday and Thursday night, and instruction for 5 full days from June 24-28. We are actively working to secure housing on campus for an additional cost of $600 for check in on Sunday June 23 and check out on Saturday June 29, which also includes dinner at the dining hall on campus.

To Apply

The 2025 application will open in early 2025.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and suitable students will be admitted as selected.

Course Overview
This course will introduce participants to the microfabrication technologies needed to build microfluidic devices for industry, governmental, and academic applications. Over the various sessions, participants will engage in hands-on, independent experimentation on microfluidic systems. Participants will learn how to design and fabricate devices by studying the basics of laminar flow, surface tension, wetting phenomena, and molecular diffusion. For a tentative schedule, please see below.

By the end of the course, students will be able to apply their knowledge to design and build microfluidic devices for their own research projects. All attendees will have individual consultations with experts in the field and work on their own AutoCAD design. Participants are expected to possess a background in quantitative science. Experience working in a chemistry wet lab is preferable but not essential.

If you have questions about the course or about the application process, please email the administrator<mrsec-admin@brandeis.edu>.

Read about the experiences of one participant from the 2019 MRSEC Microfluidics summer course.

Images from past summer sessions: