ECHO at Duke

History of the field:
While the science of electrical charges and currents had been studied and refined for centuries by physicists like Benjamin Franklin and Michael Faraday, the field of electrical engineering really began to take off when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. After that landmark stroke of genius and determination, everyone wanted electricity routed to their homes, and new electrical devices seemed to be invented everyday from washing machines for our clothes and dishes to electric stoves and microwave ovens to hair dryers and electric toothbrushes. Today, electrical engineering has become so much more than just power lines, light bulbs, landline telephones, and radios. Now the field encompasses electric and self-driving cars, robotics, nanotechnology, microelectronics, photonics, and so much more.

Meet the ECHO executive board:
Brittani Carroll is the Vice President of Graduate and Undergraduate Student Recruitment and co-founder of ECHO. Brittani received her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Evansville where she realized the numerous ways electrical engineering could positively impact people’s lives. Now, she's a second year PhD student in Dr. Aaron Franklin’s lab where she studies printed electronics for biomedical applications. Specifically, she uses an aerosol jet printer (as shown in the photo below) to print conductive traces and electrical devices such as a biosensor that measures the amount of time it takes for blood to clot. This printed biosensor will one day become an at-home, point-of-care test to measure blood clotting and will help to improve the lives of patients on certain anti-clot medications. Apart from her research, Brittani enjoys spending time with her fiancé while running, cuddling her cats, attending Duke basketball games, cooking, spending time outdoors, and traveling to new places!