Abed Benbuk

After completing his master’s degree in electrical engineering at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Abed Benbuk chose to attend the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University to pursue his doctoral degree. Benbuk was drawn to the Fulton Schools because of the opportunity to study under his dissertation advisor, Jennifer Blain, a Fulton Schools professor of electrical engineering who specializes in biomedical technology.

“The most interesting part of my doctoral degree journey is that I got to work with incredible individuals from different fields, such as biomedical engineering and surgeons to develop biomedical devices,” Benbuk says. “Working in this interdisciplinary environment was exciting and rewarding.”

His dissertation research focused on developing a new type of wireless, battery-free implant to electrically stimulate the brain. The device, which carefully applies voltage to stimulate areas of the brain, has potential applications to treat movement disorders, tumors and traumatic injuries.

By eliminating the wires and batteries present in current implant designs, Benbuk removed a main cause of complications. Wires and batteries risk causing scar tissue, internal bleeding and pain because of potential movement and component failure in the body.

His work resulted in three patents, papers published in multiple technical journals and a number of awards. Benbuk’s awards include winning the Student Paper Contest at the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems; being on the first place teams in the 2022 and 2023 Mayo Clinic Office of Entrepreneurship Alligator Tank health care innovation pitch competitions; winning second place with his team in the 2022 Walleye Tank life science business pitch competition; and earning the Aristotle Award for the most transdisciplinary approach at the 2021 ASU BioDesign Institute Fusion event.

Benbuk most strongly credits his success to Blain, who he says greatly supported him throughout his doctoral education.

“I was inspired by her dedication to apply electrical engineering into translational research with a significant impact in health care,” Benbuk says.

He says ASU’s facilities were also invaluable in completing his doctoral research. Benbuk used the university’s onsite microelectronics fabrication facility, the ASU Core Facilities NanoFab, to create his implant.

Following graduation, he will continue working in the senior timing systems engineer position he began in September. Benbuk now works at Skyworks Solutions, Inc., a semiconductor company in Austin, Texas, where he spent two summers interning before starting his full-time job there.

He aims to one day continue improving patient lives through medical technology.

“I would love to see biomedical implants being implemented in a safe, reliable process to help humanity combat tumors that appear in eloquent regions of the brain and restore function after an injury is incurred,” Benbuk says.

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ fall 2024 class here.