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4. Ruth Houlihan

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Biography

Dr Ruth Houlihan is a research scientist at Tyndall National Institute, Ireland. She graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 1998 with a Mechanical Engineering degree, from University College Cork, Ireland in 2000 with a Masters in Engineering Science and in 2004 from the University of Southampton, UK with a Ph.D. in microsystems. She has worked over the years in inertial, RF and energy harvesting MEMS devices as device designer, process developer and device and system modeller. In particular, she has focused on the mechanical modelling of MEMS structures using finite element software. She has been PI for Enterprise Ireland funded projects, has worked on FP6 and FP7 European projects, ESA funded projects in addition to industrial contracts.
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Research Grants

	Project	Funding Body	Start Date	End Date	Award
	EI PC/2006/0129	Enterprise Irl	06-NOV-06	05-JAN-08	€89,595.00
	EI"Intelligent Reliability Circuitry for RF MEMS Capactive Switches"	Enterprise Irl	12-MAY-08	28-FEB-10	€76,500.00

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Publications

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Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2012)	'Addendum:“A study of capacitance-voltage curve narrowing effect in capacitive microelectromechanical switches”[Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 094101 (2008)]' Olszewski, Z.,Houlihan, R.,O’Mahony, C.,Duane, R. (2012) 'Addendum:“A study of capacitance-voltage curve narrowing effect in capacitive microelectromechanical switches”[Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 094101 (2008)]'. Applied Physics Letters, 100 (22):29903-29903 [Details]
	(2012)	'Experimental isolation of degradation mechanisms in capacitive microelectromechanical switches' Olszewski, Z,Houlihan, R,Ryan, C,O'Mahony, C,Duane, R (2012) 'Experimental isolation of degradation mechanisms in capacitive microelectromechanical switches'. Applied Physics Letters, 100 [DOI] [Details]
	(2009)	'Comment on Comparison of air breakdown and substrate injection as mechanisms to induce dielectric charging in microelectromechanical switches [Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 043502 (2008)]' Olszewski, Z.,O'Mahony, C.,Houlihan, R.,Duane, R. (2009) 'Comment on Comparison of air breakdown and substrate injection as mechanisms to induce dielectric charging in microelectromechanical switches [Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 043502 (2008)]'. Applied Physics Letters, 95 (1717)   [Details]
	(2014)	'Reliability assessment of MEMS switches for space applications: laboratory and launch testing' Conor O’Mahony; Oskar Olszewski; Ronan Hill; Ruth Houlihan; Cormac Ryan; Ken Rodgers; Carmel Kelleher; Russell Duane;Martin Hill (2014) 'Reliability assessment of MEMS switches for space applications: laboratory and launch testing'. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 24 (12) [Details]
	(2005)	'Modelling squeeze film effects in a MEMS accelerometer with a levitated proof mass' Houlihan, Ruth and Kraft, Michael (2005) 'Modelling squeeze film effects in a MEMS accelerometer with a levitated proof mass'. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 15 (5) [Details]
	(2005)	'Characterization, modelling and performance evaluation of CMOS integrated multielectrode tunable capacitor (MTC)' Olszewski, Z.,Hilll, M.,O'Mahony, C.,Duane, R.,Houlihan, R. (2005) 'Characterization, modelling and performance evaluation of CMOS integrated multielectrode tunable capacitor (MTC)'. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 15 (77)   [Details]
	(2014)	'A simple electrical test method to isolate viscoelasticity and creep in capacitive microelectromechanical switches' Ryan, C,Olszewski, Z,Houlihan, R,O'Mahony, C,Duane, R (2014) 'A simple electrical test method to isolate viscoelasticity and creep in capacitive microelectromechanical switches'. Applied Physics Letters, 104 [DOI] [Details]
	(2002)	'Modelling of an accelerometer based on a levitated proof mass' Houlihan, Ruth and Kraft, Michael (2002) 'Modelling of an accelerometer based on a levitated proof mass'. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 12 (4) [Details]

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Conference Publications

	Year	Publication
	(2012)	Royal Irish Academy Communications and Radio Science Colloquium Ryan, C. ,Olszewski, O. Z. ,Houlihan, R. ,O'Mahony, C.,Duane, R. (2012) Design For Reliability in RF MEMS Capacitive Switches Royal Irish Academy Communications and Radio Science Colloquium Dublin, IrelandDublin, Ireland, [Details]
	(2014)	International Conference and Exhibition on Integration Issues of Miniaturized Smart Systems (SSi 2014) Alessandro Sanginaro, Danilo Demarchi, Gerold Schropfer, Sarah Zerbini, Magdalena Ekwinska, Ruth Houlihan (2014) System-aware Design Methodology for MEMS based on High-order Parametric Finite-Element Library Combined with Model-Order-Reduction International Conference and Exhibition on Integration Issues of Miniaturized Smart Systems (SSi 2014) Vienna, , 26-MAR-15 - 27-MAR-15 [Details]
	(2012)	RAD2012: The First International Conference on Radiation and Dosimetry in Various Fields of Research Ryan, C. ,Olszewski, O. Z. ,Houlihan, R. ,O'Mahony, C.,Duane, R. (2012) Capacitive Microelectromechanical Switches for Space Applications RAD2012: The First International Conference on Radiation and Dosimetry in Various Fields of Research Nis, SerbiaNis, Serbia, [Details]
	(2008)	Micromechanics Europe 2008Micromechanics Europe 2008 Kuberappa, Y.,Hill, M.,O’Mahony, C.,Olszewski, O. Z.,Houlihan, R.,Verheggen, J. (2008) Accurate RF simulations of MEMS Curled cantilever SwitchesAccurate RF simulations of MEMS Curled cantilever Switches Micromechanics Europe 2008Micromechanics Europe 2008 Aachen, GermanyAachen, Germany, [Details]
	(2014)	Microneedles 2014Microneedles 2014 O’Mahony, C.,Grygoryev, K.,Lo Re, G.,Vereschagina, L.,Houlihan, R. (2014) Microneedle-based Dry Electrodes for ECG and Respiration Rate MonitoringMicroneedle-based Dry Electrodes for ECG and Respiration Rate Monitoring Microneedles 2014Microneedles 2014 Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore, Maryland, [Details]
	(2013)	Micromechanics Europe 2013 Ryan, C.,Olszewski, Z.,Houlihan, R.,O’Mahony, C.,Duane, R. (2013) Tether Design for Radio-Frequency Capacitive Switches Micromechanics Europe 2013 Helsinki, FinlandHelsinki, Finland, [Details]
	(2004)	Proceedings 6th Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems Kham, MN and Houlihan, Ruth and Kraft, Michael (2004) Design and Simulation of a Mechanical Amplifier for Inertial Sensing Applications Proceedings 6th Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems , pp.343-346 [Details]
	(2003)	TRANSDUCERS, Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 12th International Conference on, 2003 Houlihan, Ruth and Koukharenko, E and Sehr, Harald and Kraft, Michael (2003) Optimisation, design and fabrication of a novel accelerometer TRANSDUCERS, Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 12th International Conference on, 2003 , pp.1403-1406 [Details]
	(2001)	SPIE Micromachining and Microfabrication Houlihan, Ruth P and Kukharenka, Alena and Gindila, Mircea and Kraft, Michael (2001) Analysis and design of a capacitive accelerometer based on a electrostatically levitated microdisk SPIE Micromachining and Microfabrication , pp.277-286 [Details]
	(1999)	5th International Workshop on Thermal Investigations of ICs and Mircostructures, October 1999, Rome, Italy Houlihan, R. and Kelly, G. and Lyden, C. (1999) Development of behavioural models of resonant sensor elements subject to residual stress 5th International Workshop on Thermal Investigations of ICs and Mircostructures, October 1999, Rome, Italy [Details]
	(2014)	Eurosensors 2014 Z. Olszewski, R. Houlihan, R. O’Keeffe, M. O’Neill*, F. Waldron, A. Mathewson, N. Jackson (2014) A MEMS silicon-based piezoelectric AC current sensor Eurosensors 2014 [Details]
	(2009)	Micromechanics Europe 2009 Houlihan, R.,Olszewski, O. Z.,Duane, R.,O'Mahony, C.,Collins, P.,Mathewson, A. (2009) System-Level Reliability of a Capacitive MEMS Switch Micromechanics Europe 2009 Toulouse, FranceToulouse, France, [Details]
	(2012)	Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS (DTIP), 2012 Symposium on Olszewski, Oskar Z and Ryan, Cormac and Houlihan, Ruth and O'Mahony, Conor and Duane, Russell (2012) MEMS capacitive switch with stable actuation voltage over a broad temperature range Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS (DTIP), 2012 Symposium on , pp.18-21 [Details]
	(2008)	Microwave Conference, 2008. EuMC 2008. 38th European Sun, X and Brebels, S and Stoukatch, S and Jansen, R and Dussopt, L and Dubois, M-A and O'Mahony, C and Berberich, S and Houlihan, R and De Raedt, W (2008) Demonstration of Heterogeneous Integration of Technologies for a Ku-Band SiP Doppler Radar Microwave Conference, 2008. EuMC 2008. 38th European , pp.1497-1500 [Details]
	(2008)	Micromechanics Europe 2008; Aachen; Germany; September 28-30th Kuberappa, Y and Hill, M and O’Mahony, C and Olszewski, Z and Houlihan, R and Verheggen, J (2008) Accurate RF Simulations of MEMS Curled Cantilever Switches Micromechanics Europe 2008; Aachen; Germany; September 28-30th [Details]
	(2014)	Microneedles 2014, Baltimore, Maryland, 19-21st May O'Mahony, Conor and Vereshchagina, Elizaveta and Grygoryev, Konstantin and Houlihan, Ruth (2014) A New Figure of Merit for Microneedle Reliability Microneedles 2014, Baltimore, Maryland, 19-21st May [Details]
	(2013)	Micromechanics Europe 2013 O'Mahony, Conor and Olszewski, Zbigniew (Oskar) and Houlihan, Ruth and Ryan, Cormac and Duane, Russell and Hill, Martin (2013) From Substrate to Space: Packaging and Deployment of RF MEMS Switches for Satellite Applications Micromechanics Europe 2013 [Details]
	(2013)	Micromechanics Europe 2013 Ryan, Cormac and Olszewski, Zbigniew (Oskar) and Houlihan, Ruth and O'Mahony, Conor and Duane, Russell (2013) Comparison of tether designs for reliable operation of RF MEMS capacitive switches Micromechanics Europe 2013 [Details]
	(2012)	Royal Irish Academy Research Colloquium on Communications and Radio Science into the 21st Century Ryan, Cormac and Olszewski, Zbigniew (Oskar) and Houlihan, Ruth and O'Mahony, Conor and Duane, Russell (2012) Design for reliabiity in RF MEMS capacitive switches Royal Irish Academy Research Colloquium on Communications and Radio Science into the 21st Century [Details]
	(2010)	7th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications Workshop Houlihan, R. and Collins, P. and Olszewski, Z. and Mathewson, A. (2010) Reliability Enhancing Circuit for a Capacitive MEMS Switch 7th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications Workshop [Details]
	(2014)	9th ESA Round Table on Micro and Nano Technologies For Space Applications, Swiss Tech Convention Center, Lausanne, Switzerland Houlihan, R. and Duane, R. and Ryan, C. and Mahony, C. O’ and Olszewski, Z. (2014) Mechanical and dielectric reliability of RF MEMS capacitive switch 9th ESA Round Table on Micro and Nano Technologies For Space Applications, Swiss Tech Convention Center, Lausanne, Switzerland [Details]
	(2010)	7th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2010 Olszewski, Z. and O'Mahony, C. and R., Houlihan and Duane, R. (2010) A Novel charging Concept in Capacitive RF MEMS 7th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2010 [Details]
	(2012)	8th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2012 Olszewski, O. Z. and Houlihan, R. and O'Mahony, C. and Ryan, C. and Duane, R. (2012) Isolation of Degradation Mechanisms in Capacitive Microelectromechanical Switches 8th ESA Round Table on MNT for Space Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2012 [Details]
	(2012)	The First International Conference on Radiation and Dosimetry in Various Fields of Research, RAD2012: Ryan, C. and Olszewski, O. Z. and Houlihan, R. and O'Mahony, C. and Duane, R. (2012) Capacitive Microelectromechanical Switches for Space Applications The First International Conference on Radiation and Dosimetry in Various Fields of Research, RAD2012: [Details]
	(2006)	Micromechanics Europe, Southampton, UK, Sept. 2006 Zhao, Q. and Houlihan, R. and Olszewski, O. Z. and Hill, M. and O'Mahony, C. (2006) Process-Induced Stress in thin Film Aluminium MEMS StructuresProcess-Induced Stress in thin Film Aluminium MEMS Structures Micromechanics Europe, Southampton, UK, Sept. 2006 [Details]
	(2007)	Micromechanics Europe, Guimaraes, Portugal, 2007 O’Mahony, Conor and Houlihan, Ruth (2007) A High Airgap Capacitive Microswitch Using Thin Film Stress Gradient Micromechanics Europe, Guimaraes, Portugal, 2007 [Details]
	(2012)	Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS - DTIP 2012 Olszewski, O. Z. ,Houlihan, R. ,O'Mahony, C.,Ryan, C. ,Duane, R. (2012) Experimental MEMS capacitive switch with stable actuation voltage over a broad temperature range Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS - DTIP 2012 Cannes, FranceCannes, France, [Details]
	(2014)	MEMSWAVE Ryan, C.,Olszewski, O. Z.,Houlihan, R.,O'Mahony, C.,Blake, A.,Duane, R. (2014) Investigation of Bipolar Dielectric Charging in RF MEMS Capacitive Switches MEMSWAVE La Rochelle, FranceLa Rochelle, France, [Details]