Kurt E. Petersen, Ph.D.

It was 1975, and Kurt Petersen was a smart young researcher, fresh out of the Ph.D. program in electrical engineering at MIT and working in the optics group at IBM’s Almaden, Calif., research center. And he was bored. Roaming the massive complex one day, he came across a huge black stain on the linoleum tiles of an otherwise nondescript hallway. That stain would change his life and the course of an entire industry.

In search of the source of the stain—he was that bored—Petersen walked into the nearest lab. The stain, he found out, came from an ink spill. The lab was developing inkjet printer nozzles by etching precise holes in silicon… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Kurt E. Petersen, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Silicon Valley Band of Angels, to its College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Dr. Petersen was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for “pioneering contributions to the field of microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS) design, fabrication, and commercialization; for mentoring first-time entrepreneurs.”