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 Linda Tian, a second-year mechanical engineering (ME) Ph.D. student and Clark Doctoral Fellow, earned Microsystems & Nanoengineering/Springer Nature Best Oral Presentation Award – Runner Up at the 29th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences–Micro-Total Analysis Systems (µTAS 2025) held in Adelaide, Australia.
Selected from over 1,000 submissions worldwide, the abstract led by co-first authors Tian and Olivia Young (Ph.D. ME, ‘25)—both from associate professor Ryan D. Sochol’s Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing (BAM) Laboratory—was ranked in the top 15 percent and accepted as an oral presentation. From this elite group, an awards committee recognized Tian’s talk among the top 4 presentations of the conference, earning her a $500 prize and significant distinction on the international stage.
Tian’s talk, “3D-Microprinted High-Aspect-Ratio Microfluidic Tubing via Two-Photon Direct Laser Writing,” showcased a new approach using the team’s state-of-the-art 3D nanoprinter to create soft robotic surgical instruments. The research builds on their recent advancements featured in The Baltimore Sun.
“This new 3D printing strategy enables fabrication that ranges from the microscale all the way up to the macroscale,” said Tian, “allowing us to advance emerging fields including organ-on-a-chip systems and surgical robotics.”
The work represents a convergence of soft robotics, advanced manufacturing, and bioengineering, which are core areas of innovation at the University of Maryland’s Institute for Systems Research (ISR).
“Tian and Young have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in 3D nanoprinting,” said Sochol, who currently servesas Interim Director of the Maryland Robotics Center and holds a joint appointment in ISR and ME. “This tremendous achievement at µTAS underscores not only their talent but also the future they are helping shape in soft robotics and 3D microfluidics.”
The µTAS conference is the leading international forum for breakthroughs in microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip systems, BioMEMS, microfabrication, 3D printing, and related technologies driving advances in medicine, biology, chemistry, and environmental applications.
The research represents an interdisciplinary, collaborative endeavor with mechanical engineering assistant research professor Molly A. Carton as well as Miroslaw Janowski and Dheeraj Gandhi from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Mark Fuge of ETH Zurich, and Axel Krieger of Johns Hopkins University. The research was supported in part by a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
December 4, 2025
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