Advancing microelectronics and integrating sensor technologies
NAE profile: Kensall Wise, Electronics, Communication & Information Systems Specialist.
5 minutes
The Highest Honor
Get to know Michigan Engineering’s National Academy of Engineering members.
Ken Wise significantly advanced microelectronics by integrating sensor technologies, focusing on environmental and biomedical sensors, and developing neural probes for medical applications like epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. As a dedicated educator at the University of Michigan, he emphasized teaching and fostering collaboration, playing a key role in building a strong sensor program, enhancing teamwork, and securing grants from NIH and SRC. Wise contributed to lab infrastructure, envisioning microelectronics driving future innovations in healthcare and environmental monitoring.] For these achievements, Kensall D. Wise was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. View the NAE citation.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Ken Wise made notable contributions through mentorship and community engagement. He prioritized the personal and professional development of his students, providing guidance and inspiration for future engineers and scientists.
Affiliations
- William Gould Dow Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering
- Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, College of Engineering
On this page
Background & education
- W. W. Clyde Visiting Professor of Engineering, University of Utah, 2012
- Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, joined faculty in 2007
- Director, NSF ERC in Wireless Integrated MicroSystems, University of Michigan, 2000
- Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, 1999
- Director, Center for Integrated MicroSystems, University of Michigan, 1998
- J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing Technology, University of Michigan, 1993
- Director, Solid-State Electronics Laboratory, University of Michigan, 1979-1987; 2007-2011
- Director, Center for Integrated Sensors and Circuits, University of Michigan, 1987
- Director, SRC Program in Automated Semiconductor Manufacturing, University of Michigan, 1984
- Research Associate & Lecturer, Stanford University 1965
- Technical Staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1972
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1969
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1964
- B.S.S.E, Purdue University, 1963
In their own words
Tell us a little about yourself
Wise: “I grew up in Indiana, in Michigan City, which was a resort town on the lake. I was an only child. And I’m a Sputnik kid. When I was a sophomore in high school, the Russians launched the first satellite, Sputnik. And I think that caused kind of an upheaval in US educational circles. We had assumed we were pretty good.
“All of a sudden, we had a vision of the Russians raining nuclear bombs down on us. And so I think if you were a fairly good student in high school, you almost felt like you had a national responsibility to go into science or engineering. And so I decided, well, okay, I’ll go into engineering. I had no idea what engineering was. I didn’t know what engineers did. And if you were in Indiana and you were growing up and you wanted to go into engineering, you went to Purdue. That was it.”
Can you share a Eureka moment, or a turning point?
Wise: “I remember when I was 23 back at Bell Labs a long time ago, I was working on sensors and things in an attempt to marry microelectronics to the non-electronic world. We worked on environmental sensors, biomedical sensors, and implantable devices. I think from the beginning, it was clear to me that it was going to be really important. We needed to be able to capture signals from the non-electronic world and we needed to to do all of that on on a single chip and process them and recognize what was going on.
“When it started, we saw so many revolutions, and the long term goal is really the ability to conquer things like Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy and deafness and blindness and so forth. Today, cochlear implants for the deaf are commonplace. Today, DBS is one of the main treatments for Parkinson’s.”
What advice would you give an engineering student?
Wise: “First of all, pick something that you think is going to be a real help to society. Pick something you’re excited about. And number two is just work hard and be as good as you can be. You’ve got to be excited about what you do. You’ve got to believe in it. You’ve got to work hard at it. And if you’re lucky, like I was, you’ll have a lot of good colleagues to work with.”
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
Wise: “My freshman year at Purdue was awful. I was taking courses I didn’t really have a lot of background for, and at times I thought I should drop out. I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence.
“I think there are a lot of things in life that you wrestle with. But I had a lot of help along the way. I think the parents and wife and church and a lot of things like that were important. They helped me over some of the rough spots. It’s always a struggle. It’s never easy. But at the same time, I had a lot of opportunities, and I had to take advantage of those opportunities.”
What challenges and opportunities do you see for your field?
Wise: “I think microelectronics has come so far so fast that the ability to use that power is is only limited by the ability to really access the information. We’re going to see more and more of that. There’s a lot of companies that have been formed in the area and there’ll be a lot more as time goes on. Nobody founded companies back when I was starting out. There is a big leap from showing physical feasibility to being able to produce things in quantity to help people. There’s all kinds of companies now that are doing neural stuff, and there’s been tremendous progress.”
Quotes edited from interview transcript between Ken Wise and Marcin Szczcepanski.