Dr. Avila joined Rice University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2023. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (2017) from The University of Texas at El Paso and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (2023) from Northwestern University under the guidance of Prof. Yonggang Huang. He was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, and received the Outstanding Researcher Award from the International Institute of Nanotechnology. In 2022, he was selected as a Future Trailblazer in Engineering by Purdue University for his potential impact in expanding representation and diversity in engineering.
WEBSITE(S)| Avila Research Group
Research Areas
Dr. Avila’s research centers on modeling and simulation of bioelectronics for health care and biomedical applications. His research laboratory aims to develop a theoretical and computational framework to study the scalability, packaging, power limitations, tissue interactions and energy absorption in bioelectronic devices. He is interested in developing bioelectronic design concepts to yield ingenious mechanical capabilities with sufficient electromagnetic efficiency at the material-level and device-level for wireless signal sensing, mechanics manipulation, clinical imaging, and energy harvesting applications. Inspired by the potential to advance patient care by levering engineering concepts, Dr. Avila’s research aims to expand bioelectronics capabilities by combining mechanics, materials, and electromagnetics design in emerging applications including dissolvable pacemakers, sweat collection microfluidic devices, ultra-soft biosensors for NICU and PICU patients, implantable optogenetic devices, bioresorbable temperature sensors and pacemakers, miniaturized pressure sensors for prosthetics, and drug delivery technologies.
Education
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University (2023)
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at El Paso (2017)
Honors & Awards
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 2018 - 2022
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, 2018 - 2023