Jacob T. Robinson

Jacob T. Robinson is an American scientist and engineer. His research focuses on nano-neurotechnology, neuroengineering, and bioelectronics. He is best known for making miniature technologies to stimulate and record neural activity. He is currently Associate Professor of Rice University lectrical and Computer Engineering. and Bioengineering at Rice University in Houston, TX and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine. 
== Education[edit] ==
Robinson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2003. He joined the Applied Physics Ph.D. program at Cornell University where he worked with Professor Michal Lipson developing nanoscale devices that confine light to small volumes and thereby enhance the interaction between light and matter. After completing his Ph.D. in 2008, Robinson began postdoctoral research in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology department at Harvard University under Professor Hongkun Park.
== Career and research[edit] ==
Dr. Robinson joined the Rice University faculty in 2012 and Baylor College of Medicine adjunct faculty in 2014. He is a core faculty member in the Rice Center for Rice Neuroengineering Initiative.
Robinson’s Lab develops nanotechnologies to measure and manipulate brain activity with the goal of improving our understanding of how the brain works and advancing the treatment of neurological disorders. Specific work includes magnetic nanomaterials, photonics, and nanoelectrodes that improve neural interface performance while reducing their invasiveness. Robinson is a senior member of IEEE, the co-chair of the IEEE Brain Initiative, and a core member of the IEEE Brain neuroethics working group.
In 2022, Robinson co-founder Motif Neurotech, Inc., a neurotechnology company, where he serves as the Chief Executive Officer. The company is developing therapeutic brain-computer interfaces for the treatment of mental health disorders. His work centers on creating miniature devices that can monitor and manipulate neural circuit activity, advancing the potential for innovative mental health therapies. 
Robinson has been instrumental in developing the company’s flagship product, the DOT microstimulator, a wireless brain pacemaker designed to enable at-home therapy following implantation. The company has also secured $18.75 million in Series A funding.
== Awards[edit] ==
* 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
* 2018 Materials Today Rising Star Award
* 2014 DARPA Young Faculty Award
== Publications[edit] ==
* Magnetics
** Z. Yu et al., "34.3 An 8.2mm3 Implantable Neurostimulator with Magnetoelectric Power and Data Transfer," 2020 IEEE International Solid- State Circuits Conference - (ISSCC), 2020, pp. 510-512.
* Photonics
** Jesse K. Adams, Vivek Boominathan, Benjamin W. Avants, Daniel G. Vercosa, Fan Ye, Richard G. Baraniuk, Jacob T. Robinson and Ashok Veeraraghavan, "Single-frame 3D fluorescence microscopy with ultraminiature lensless FlatScope", Science Advances 3 (12), e1701548 (2017).
** Jacob T. Robinson, Long Chen, and Michal Lipson, "On-chip gas detection in silicon optical microcavities," Opt. Express 16, 4296-4301 (2008).
** Jacob T. Robinson, Kyle Preston, Oskar Painter, and Michal Lipson, "First-principle derivation of gain in high-index-contrast waveguides," Opt. Express 16, 16659-16669 (2008).
** Jacob T. Robinson, Christina Manolatou, Long Chen, and Michal Lipson, "Ultrasmall Mode Volumes in Dielectric Optical Microcavities", Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (14), 143901 (2005).
* Electrodes
** Flavia Vitale, Daniel G. Vercosa, Alexander V. Rodriguez, Sushma Sri Pamulapati, Frederik Seibt, Eric Lewis, J. Stephen Yan, Krishna Badhiwala, Mohammed Adnan, Gianni Royer-Carfagni, Michael Beierlein, Caleb Kemere, Matteo Pasquali, and Jacob T. Robinson, "Fluidic Microactuation of Flexible Electrodes for Neural Recording", Nano Lett 18 (1), 326-335 (2018).
** Gonzales, D., Badhiwala, K., Vercosa, D. et al., "Scalable electrophysiology in intact small animals with nanoscale suspended electrode arrays", Nature Nanotech 12, 684–691 (2017).
** Robinson, J., Jorgolli, M., Shalek, A. et al., "Vertical nanowire electrode arrays as a scalable platform for intracellular interfacing to neuronal circuits", Nature Nanotech 7, 180–184 (2012).
* Invertebrate Neuroscience
** Gonzales, D.L., Zhou, J., Fan, B. et al., "A microfluidic-induced C. elegans sleep state," Nat Commun 10 (1), 5035 (2019).
** Badhiwala, K. N., Gonzales, D. L., Vercosa, D. G., Avants, B. W., & Robinson, J. T., "Microfluidics for electrophysiology, imaging, and behavioral analysis of Hydra," Lab Chip 18 (17), 2523–2539 (2018)
Category:American scientists
Category:American engineers
Category:University of California alumni