Albert K. Henning received the A.B. and A.M. degrees from Dartmouth College in Physics in 1977 and 1979, respectively.  His master's thesis was supervised by Bruce Pipes.  From 1979 to 1982 he was a device physicist with Intel Corporation, where he led Intel's first CMOS FET device physics analyses, and developed the initial transistor designs for the 386 generation of microprocessors.  He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1987, studying hot carrier CMOSFET physics at cryogenic temperatures under the supervision of Jim Plummer. From 1987 through 1995, he was Assistant and Associate Professor of Engineering Science at Dartmouth College, working on semiconductor device physics (including 2D scanning probe metrology of MOSFET doping profiles and defects), and beginning his research into microflow devices, such as microscale channels and orifices, and microvalves and microturbines. At Dartmouth, he designed and supervised construction of the Solid State Technology Lab, a Class 100/1000 clean room facility for instruction and R&D. He was the holder of an Analog Devices Career Development Professorship, and an IBM Faculty Development Award.  Also at Dartmouth, he developed two NSF-sponsored educational projects: a pioneering undergraduate course on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), and a comprehensive summer workshop on MEMS for undergraduate students underrepresented in that field of study.  

In 1996 he joined Redwood Microsystems, where he served as Project Manager, Wafer Fabrication Manager, and Director of Technology.  His research interests concerned the physics, technology, and reliability physics of microflow structures, actuators, and systems, particularly with respect to valves, orifices (flow sensors), and pressure sensors.  Application interests at Redwood included increased vapor-compression refrigeration efficiency using microvalves, and high-performance, high-reliability mass flow control using microflow components.  He served as Guest Editor for the journal Sensors & Materials, for their special issue on Microvalves. He developed a distance learning course on microflow devices, made available through SemiZone.  For many years he participated in leadership roles with the MEMS-related symposium of conferences sponsored by SPIE. He remains active in the IEEE, where he is a Senior Member.  He has published 76 archival (refereed) journal articles and proceedings papers. He has 14 published US Patents and Patent Applications.  He has 16 invited conference and workshop presentations.  His publication metrics are: h-index=18; i10-index=26; total citations=1386 (25 June 2018).

With the closure of Redwood Microsystems in December of 2005, Dr. Henning turned his attention toward consulting and manufacturing of products in the realm of MEMS-based microflow devices and microfluidics. In particular, he formed Aquarian Microsystems as a startup vehicle for bringing MEMS-based clean-tech products to market. In 2006 and again in 2007, these efforts were rewarded by being named as a Finalist in the CleanTech Open.

 

In 2007 he joined NanoInk as Director of MEMS Technology, working on: nano-encryption of pharmaceutical products to verify product authenticity and prevent counterfeiting; capillary (surface tension) force-driven microflow on MEMS cantilevers and engineered silicon substrates; research, development, manufacture, and characterization of biosensors for use in inflammation sensor arrays, having the ability to measure antibody concentrations for up to ten blood-borne inflammation markers.

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With the closure of NanoInk in February of 2013, Dr. Henning returned to consulting in the microelectronics and microfluidics fields. He is Chief Scientist for MonolithIC3D, working on three-dimensional integrated circuit technology IP development. He is head of US Business Development for the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS), with headquarters in Dresden, Germany. And, he works with a number of individual clients on technology development in microfluidics.