Mark G. Allen

About

Professor Mark G. Allen is the Director of the MicroSensors and MicroActuators (MSMA) Group at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds the Alfred Fitler Moore Professorship and is a faculty member in the Electrical and Systems Engineering department, which is his primary appointment. Additionally, he is affiliated with the Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics department. Professor Allen also serves as the Chair of the Electrical and Systems Engineering department. The MSMA Group under his leadership focuses on research in microsensors and microactuators, with ongoing projects involving postdoctoral fellows and graduate students working on topics such as magnetics, microfabrication, in-soil nutrient sensing, biodegradable batteries, magnetic energy harvesting, and biosensors.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Electrical engineering
• Materials science
• Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Biology
• Immunology
• Organic chemistry
• Endocrinology
• Composite material

Selected publications

• High-Energy-Density Zinc–Air Microbatteries with Lean PVA–KOH–K₂CO₃ Gel Electrolytes

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2023 · 30 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  , respectively. The batteries described in this work are manufactured in an open environment and fabricated using a straightforward layer-by-layer method, enabling the potential for high fabrication throughput in a MEMS-compatible fashion.

  DOI

• Single-step label-free nanowell immunoassay accurately quantifies serum stress hormones within minutes

  Science Advances · 2021 · 29 citations

  A non-faradaic label-free cortisol sensing platform is presented using a nanowell array design, in which the two probe electrodes are integrated within the nanowell structure. Rapid and low volume (≤5 μl) sensing was realized through functionalizing nanoscale volume wells with antibodies and monitoring the real-time binding events. A 28-well plate biochip was built on a glass substrate by sequential deposition, patterning, and etching steps to create a stack nanowell array sensor with an electro…

  DOI

• Vertically integrated high voltage Zn-Air batteries enabled by stacked multilayer electrodeposition

  Journal of Power Sources · 2020 · 22 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• A Tunable Magnetic Bias Circuit With Zero Static Power Consumption

  IEEE Magnetics Letters · 2025-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleSenior author

  Quasi-static magnetic fields can be used to modulate the magnetic and electrical properties of many magnetic materials, thereby enabling the operation of various magnetic devices, such as multiferroic magnetic field sensors and ferro/ferrimagnetic magneto-static wave filters. We present a magnetic circuit designed to produce a tunable dc magnetic bias field and detail its operating principle. The magnitude of the bias field can be electrically tuned to achieve a desired magnetic field; when not…

  PublisherDOI

• Fabricaton of Through-Silicon-Via Inductors for High-Frequency Vertical Power Delivery

  2025-06-29 · 2 citations

  articleSenior author

  This paper presents the fabrication of through-silicon-via (TSV) inductors for high-frequency vertical power delivery. To fabricate such inductors, magnetic material is introduced into TSVs by electrodepositing magnetic film onto the TSV sidewalls. A self-aligned process defines the electrodeposited magnetic film to form the cores of the TSV inductors without requiring photolithography. Subsequent copper filling of the vias provides a low-resistance vertical current path, completing the inductor…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NNCI: Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub (MANTH)

  NSF · $5.3M · 2020–2026

• NIH Grant R43HL064452

  NIH · $100k · 2001

• NNCI: Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub (MANTH) for Research, Education, & Innovation

  NSF · $5.0M · 2015–2021

Frequent coauthors

• David M. Sonnenfroh

  64 shared

• Sophia Muirhead

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

  59 shared

• Juan Hernández-Cordero

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

  59 shared

• Thomas Siegert

  University of West Florida

  59 shared

• Thomas Coughlin

  Xi'an Jiaotong University

  59 shared

• Jamie Moesch

  Arizona State University

  59 shared

• John C. Cartledge

  Human Resources Research Organization

  59 shared

• Steven Heffner

  Spectrum Research (United States)

  59 shared

Labs

• MicroSensors and MicroActuators GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering

  University of Pennsylvania

  1988

• M.S., Electrical Engineering

  University of Pennsylvania

  1983

• B.S., Electrical Engineering

  University of Pennsylvania

  1981

Similar researchers at University of Pennsylvania

• Haim H. Bauh-67
• Pedro Ponte Castañedah-60
• Noam Liorh-53