Education
- Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018
- M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016
- M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014
- M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering – University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, 2011
- B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering – University of Engineering and Technology, 2008
- Scholarship Awards by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) for MSc in Electrical Engineering (2008 – 2010)
- Scholarship award by MASDAR Institute of Science and Technology by MASDAR Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) - UAE in Collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – USA for MSc in Electrical Power Engineering (2012-2014)
- HRDI-UESTPs/UETs scholarship Award by Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (2012-2016)
- US Fulbright Scholarship Award (2012 – 2017)
- Integrated Optics
- Silicon Photonics
- Biosensing
- Nanoscale Packaging
- Renewable Energy
- Power Electronics
- Smart Grids
- MEMS
Biography
Dr. Usman has received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, Pakistan in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He has received his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (majors in Optics and Microsystems), M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (majors in MEMS, Packaging, and Nanotechnology), and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2014, 2016, and 2018 from the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively. He is a recipient of the prestigious US Fulbright scholarship and was also awarded HRDI-UESTPs/UETs scholarship award from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. He also holds the certification of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Usman’s doctoral research was focused on the investigation and demonstration of compact lab-on-a-chip (LOC) optical sensors for the post translational modification (PTM) profiling of the proteins used as biomarkers, for early cancer detection. This multi-disciplinary research has been focused towards the integration of functional proteomics, microfluidics, and nanofabrication, employing the principles of theoretical modeling and simulations, microfluidics, surface chemistry, and nano-optics for the realization of a novel integrated LOC platform for pre-concentration, filtration, and label-free detection of proteins and biomarkers. The motivation of this research was extracted from the inability of conventional affinity-based pre-concentration and separation techniques for elucidating PTMs of the proteins, and the unavailability of LOC sensors for this task for the point-of-care (POC) healthcare applications.
Dr. Usman also worked as an instructor of record at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2017 to 2018 where he taught the undergraduate course of Fundamentals of Digital Design in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. He has also worked and done research in the domain of Renewable Energy, Smart Grids, Power Electronics, and Wireless Power Transfer. Besides his Ph.D. research, he has served as a senator in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Student Government Association (SGA) and as the vice-president of Pakistan Student Association (PSA) in 2014. He is also an amateur photographer and a cooking enthusiast.
Selected Publications
- Usman, Ahmad, and Tahir Izhar. 'Z-Source Inverter based Indirect Field Oriented Control with Synchronous Current Injection and feed-forward CEMF compensation for an induction motor drive.' Research and Development (SCOReD), 2011 IEEE Student Conference on. IEEE, 2011.
- Khan, Talha A., Muhammad Tahir, and Ahmad Usman. 'Visible light communication using wavelength division multiplexing for smart spaces.' Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC), 2012 IEEE. IEEE, 2012.
- Usman, Ahmad, Jo Bito, and Manos M. Tentzeris. 'Flexible & planar implantable resonant coils for wireless power transfer using Inkjet masking technique.' Biomedical Wireless Technologies, Networks, and Sensing Systems (BioWireleSS), 2016 IEEE Topical Conference on. IEEE, 2016.
- Usman, Ahmad, et al. 'Highly sensitive biomolecular detection using compact high-Q silicon spiral resonators.' Frontiers in Optics. Optical Society of America, 2017.
- Usman, Ahmad, and Sajjad Haider Shami. 'Evolution of communication technologies for smart grid applications.' Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 19 (2013): 191-199.
- Iftikhar, Hamid, et al. 'Utilizing built infrastructure and otherwise non-utilizable space for solar PV power projects—A case study for an educational institution.' Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 9.1 (2017): 013505.
- Usman, Ahmad, et al. 'Interposer Technologies for High-Performance Applications.' IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology 7.6 (2017): 819-828.
