Monika Weber
| Monika Weber | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wrocław, Poland |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Freie Universität Berlin University of Wrocław Technische Universität Berlin Yale University |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Dielectrophoresis-based biosensors |
| 🏅 Awards | NASA Create the Future Prize (2011) Woman of Innovation Award (2015) New England Innovation Award (2018) |
Monika Weber is a physicist, engineer, and inventor whose work centers on microelectronics, biointerfaces, and microbial detection. She has contributed to the development of microchip-based systems for identifying bacterial and viral contamination in liquids, and she is listed as an inventor on numerous patents related to this area.[1] Weber completed her Ph.D. in microelectronics at Yale University in 2017[2][3] and has conducted research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She has also contributed to projects in planetary science, including the MIT-led Venus Life Finder mission concepts.[4]
Early life and education
Weber was born in Wrocław, Poland, in a family with academic and technical backgrounds.[2] Her mother worked in economics, and her father was a mathematician who operated a small electronics business.[2] She studied physics in both Germany and Poland, earning a master’s degree in experimental physics from Freie Universität Berlin and another in theoretical physics from the University of Wrocław.[3] She also completed coursework in electrical engineering at Technische Universität Berlin.
She later moved to the United States for doctoral study at Yale University, where she joined the laboratory of physicist Mark A. Reed. Her research focused on silicon nanowire biosensors, microfluidic systems, and dielectrophoretic techniques for separating microorganisms.[5] She completed her doctorate in 2017.[2][3]
Career
During her graduate studies, Weber worked on microchip-based methods for detecting bacterial contamination in liquids. Her work combined semiconductor sensing structures with dielectrophoretic separation, a technique that concentrates microorganisms without culturing.[3]
In 2015, she founded Fluid-Screen, Inc., a company established to advance microfluidic and biosensor technologies derived from her academic research.[2] She served as chief executive officer from 2015 to 2022.[6] Under her leadership, the company developed prototypes for applications in water testing, environmental microbiology, and bioprocess monitoring.[3]
Weber has also contributed to research in astrobiology and life-detection instrumentation, including work associated with the Venus Life Finder mission led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[4]
Awards and recognition
Her awards include:
- "NASA Create the Future Design Contest Winners". NASA Tech Briefs. 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "Sobotka Research Award". Yale University. 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "MassChallenge Celebrates High-Impact Startups 2014". MassChallenge. 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "Women of Innovation Awards Gala Winners". Globe Newswire (Press release). 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "Meet the Boston Business Journal's Women to Watch". Boston Business Journal. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "New England Innovation Award". YouTube. 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
Publications and patents
Weber’s peer-reviewed research has appeared in journals including Nanotechnology, Scientific Reports, and Aerospace.[7] She is listed as an inventor on a portfolio of patents related to dielectrophoresis, biosensors, and microfluidic diagnostic systems.[8]
Selected talks
- "Replacing the Petri Dish with a Microchip". TEDx Natick. 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- "E. coli Outbreak and Bacteria Detection". ISPE Boston Podcast. 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
References
- ↑ "Patents by Monika Weber". Google Patents. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Monika Weber". Yale Center for Business and the Environment. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Fluid-Screen: A Promising Yale Nanotechnology Startup". Yale Scientific. August 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Seager, S. (2022). "Venus Life Finder Mission Study". Aerospace. 9 (11): 692. doi:10.3390/aerospace9110692.
- ↑ Weber, Monika U. (2017). AC Kinetics System for Universal Bacterial Capture (Thesis). Yale University.
- ↑ "Fluid-Screen: Yale Nanotechnology Startup". VentureWell. 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ↑ Weber, M. U.; Petkowski, J. J.; Weber, R. E.; Krajnik, B.; Stemplewski, S.; Panek, M.; Dziubak, T.; Mrozinska, P.; Piela, A.; Lo, S. L.; Montanaro Ochoa, H. F.; Yerino, C. D. (2023). "Chip for dielectrophoretic microbial capture I". Nanotechnology. 34 (13). doi:10.1088/1361-6528/acae5c. PMID 36571849 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ United States US11203734B2, "Bacteria separation system and methods"
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