Professor Arjang Hassibi wants to revolutionize medical testing. Dr. Hassibi's research is devoted to making test results quick, convenient, and cheap via biochips. Biosensors—aka biochips—are essentially miniaturized laboratories on a single disposable integrated chip, capable of performing simultaneous biochemical reactions.

Biochips are basically hybrid systems, Hassibi says. The electronic part is solved. The challenge is how to make it into a chemical sensor.

Dr. Hassibi is working on an open platform for a tester that can be tailored to detect specific diseases. If all goes as planned, Dr. Hassibi believes commercialization can occur in three years, with the biosensors entering the consumer market three years after that.