Rate My Professor Mohamad Sawan

Mohamad Sawan is a Chair Professor in the School of Engineering at Westlake University, where he joined in 2018 as a founder and director of the Center of Excellence in Biomedical Research on Advanced Integrated-on-chips Neurotechnologies (CenBRAIN Neurotech). Prior to this, he was a professor of Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal from 1991 to 2018, advancing from assistant to full professor, and currently holds the title of Emeritus Professor since 2020. He served as Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Smart Medical Devices from 2001 to 2015 and Scientific Director of the Microsystems Strategic Alliance of Quebec from 1999 to 2018. Sawan obtained his B.Sc. from Université Laval in 1984, M.Sc.A. from Université de Sherbrooke in 1986, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Université de Sherbrooke in 1990, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Biomedical Engineering at McGill University in 1991.

His research focuses on smart medical devices encompassing brain-computer interfaces, biosensors, actuators, microelectronics, microfluidics, nanophotonics, integrated circuits, energy harvesting, signal processing, wireless communication, microsystem integration, and in vivo validation. Key innovations include cortical implantable microsystems for vision recovery, artificial sphincter and bladder systems for incontinence, smart petri dishes for cell-based screening, microsystems for epileptic seizure detection and prediction, EEG+fNIRS helmet-based systems for brain abnormality detection, and wireless power transfer for implants. With over 1,000 papers, 27 monographs and book chapters, more than 20,000 citations, and an H-index of 68, his seminal works feature the "Handbook of Biochips: Integrated Circuits and Systems for Biology and Medicine" (Springer, 2022), "Emerging Trends of Biomedical Circuits and Systems" (Foundations and Trends in Integrated Circuits and Systems, 2021), and "Wireless Recording Systems: From Non-Invasive EEG-NIRS To Invasive EEG Devices" (IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 2013). Sawan is a Life Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering, and Engineering Institute of Canada. His honors include the Chinese National Government Friendship Award, Officer of the National Order of Quebec, Elizabeth II Jubilee Diamond Award, Medal of Honor from the President of Lebanon, J.A. Bombardier Award, and Shanghai Municipal International Collaboration Award. He founded the IEEE International NEWCAS conference, co-founded IEEE-BioCAS and IEEE-AICAS, served as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems (2016-2019) and ELSP Neuroelectronics Journal, and hosted major IEEE conferences.