Sameer Sonkusale Named Jon A. Levy Professor

Professor Sameer Sonkusale of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been named the inaugural Jon A. Levy School of Engineering Professor. The Jon A. Levy School of Engineering Endowed Professorship was established on May 8, 2026 by Jon Levy, E83, to enhance Tufts' ability to attract and retain the very best faculty within the School of Engineering. Levy, a member of the School of Engineering Board of Advisors since 2019, was inspired by his relationship with Dean Kyongbum Lee and his belief in Dean Lee’s vision. 

Sonkusale received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and joined Tufts as an assistant professor in 2004. He has received many awards and honors throughout his career, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Tufts University’s Distinguished Innovator of the Year Award, and induction as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He is also a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors. 

Sonkusale, who also holds joint appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering, directs an interdisciplinary research group focused on bioelectronics, biomedical devices circuits and systems, nanoscale sensors, lab-on-chip microsystems, point-of-care diagnostics, and analog and mixed-signal computing and machine learning. He is a prolific inventor of several new devices and concepts, including "smart bandages," "smart sutures," and "lab-on-a-pill." The technologies developed in his lab have been licensed to companies and have led to the creation of several startups.  

Sonkusale’s recent research and accomplishments include developing a floss pick that can detect indicators of stress and hormonal changes in your saliva, designing a sensor that can be attached to a leaf to track a plant’s response to the environment, creating tiny backpacks for birds that measure stress due to climate change, an electronic “nose” that can detect gases in minute quantities, including those that may leak from gas lines, and ingestible devices to sample and study the gut microbiome and its impact on human health. 

Learn more about Sonkusale’s work.