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In the eighth episode of Penn Engineering’s Innovation & Impact podcast, host Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering and Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), sits down with one of the most influential figures in modern engineering, Kurt Petersen, widely recognized as the father of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). From pioneering research at IBM to founding six startups and mentoring countless others, Petersen has not only helped define the MEMS field, but continues to shape its future.
Fresh off receiving the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering, Petersen shares the serendipitous moment that sparked his interest in MEMS: an ink-stained hallway and a leaky lab experiment. That curiosity led to a groundbreaking 1982 paper, “Silicon as a Mechanical Material,” which catalyzed an entire industry. Today, MEMS is everywhere — embedded in smartphones, drones, medical diagnostics and more. Yet, as Petersen makes clear, the field is far from saturated.
Listen to the full episode to gain insights into the evolution of MEMS, from the slow-burn research culture of early IBM and Bell Labs to today’s agile, impact-driven academic startups. Petersen and Kumar highlight the importance of bridging academia with industry and mentoring founders who can navigate both science and commercialization. Petersen’s reflections on timing, teamwork and translational research are a masterclass for anyone navigating the complex intersection of engineering and entrepreneurship.
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