Richard Sack

Academic Interests and Expertise

• M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Wichita State University
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Wichita State University
• Applied engineering, biomedical engineering, electronics, instrumentation, automation, and industrial controls
• Research prototyping, laboratory operations, student project support, and applied-learning infrastructure
• Digital fabrication, including additive manufacturing, CNC machining, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, electronics prototyping, and test instrumentation
• Laboratory safety, equipment training, design review, troubleshooting, and research-support workflows

Areas of Research Interest

Richard Sack’s primary research interest is the use of acoustic fields to influence electrospinning and nanofiber formation. His work explores how ultrasonic phased arrays, acoustic holograms, and controlled interference patterns can be used to guide electrospun polymer streams during flight, improving control over deposition, structure, and material formation.

A major focus of this work is acoustic hologram-guided electrospinning, where ultrasonic transducer arrays are used to create pressure-field patterns that affect the path of electrospun fibers before they reach the collector. This approach is intended to address one of the central limitations of conventional electrospinning: the difficulty of controlling where fibers travel, how they deposit, and how structured the resulting nanofiber material becomes.

His research also includes conductive nanofiber production and structured nanofiber materials. This includes development of systems for producing conductive electrospun fibers, as well as concepts for twisting, braiding, or intertwining nanofibers during formation to improve material properties and enable new applications in aerospace, biomedical devices, filtration, sensors, electromagnetic materials, and advanced manufacturing.

Additional areas of research interest include:

• Advanced manufacturing methods that connect digital fabrication, automation,, and applied materials research.
• Biomedical engineering design, assistive technology, rehabilitation-focused devices, and accessibility-oriented engineering projects.
• Research prototyping and experimental system development, including custom fixtures, test platforms, instrumentation, motion systems, microcontroller-based controls, and automated data collection.
• Applied electronics, embedded systems, sensors, instrumentation, industrial controls, robotics, and automation for research and manufacturing applications.
• Laboratory-scale translation of early-stage concepts into testable prototypes, proof-of-concept systems, and commercialization-ready demonstrations.
• Student-centered applied research, including interdisciplinary projects that integrate engineering design, fabrication, testing, documentation, and real-world constraints.
• Technology transfer and commercialization support for university-developed engineering systems, prototypes, and applied research outcomes.

Areas of Teaching Interest

• Hands-on engineering education and applied learning across a broad range of topics
• Student mentoring through design, fabrication, testing, and troubleshooting
• Laboratory safety, equipment use, and technical training
• DFMA and prototype development
• Electronics, instrumentation, microcontrollers, and automation fundamentals
• SCADA / MES systems
• Interdisciplinary project-based learning

Professional Experience

Wichita State University

Research Support Manager, Project Innovation Hub, College of Engineering

Richard Sack supports the College of Engineering through applied research support, laboratory operations, student project development, equipment training, prototyping, and interdisciplinary engineering collaboration. His work in the Project Innovation Hub connects students, faculty, researchers, entrepreneurs, and external partners with the technical resources needed to move projects from concept through design, fabrication, testing, and demonstration.

At Wichita State University, he has served in several research, laboratory, and instructional support roles, including Research Support Manager for the Innovation Hub, Laboratory Manager for the Project Innovation Hub, Laboratory Coordinator for Biomedical Engineering, and Laboratory Manager and lecturer for Applied Engineering. He has also supported biomedical engineering instruction as a laboratory technician and guest lecturer for the BME Interdisciplinary Human Biomechanics and Design Laboratory.

His work includes development of research infrastructure, student mentoring, laboratory management, equipment access and training, prototype development, experimental system design, and support for faculty, student, and externally partnered research projects. He has contributed to grant development and has developed acoustic hologram-guided electrospinning technology that was processed through Wichita State University’s Office of Technology Transfer and licensed to industry.

Wichita State University Tech

Adjunct Professor, Manufacturing, Robotics, and Industrial Automation
Richard serves as an adjunct professor in manufacturing, with instructional focus in robotics and industrial automation. This work builds on his professional background in controls, automation, robotics, instrumentation, and manufacturing systems.

American Control & Engineering Service

Controls, Automation, and Systems Engineering
Before joining Wichita State University, Richard worked in industrial controls and automation at American Control & Engineering Service. His responsibilities included designing, programming, constructing, testing, commissioning, and troubleshooting control systems and user interfaces for industrial equipment and manufacturing processes. He also created operations, troubleshooting, and training manuals and trained personnel during equipment startup and commissioning.

His industry experience included aerospace, food and beverage, paper corrugation, plastic extrusion, enhanced oil extraction, process heating, motion control, robotics, water and wastewater systems, and fuel-farm safety systems. Projects included modular control systems for FlexSteam enhanced-oil-extraction systems, furnace and process-heating control systems, robotic and motion-control applications, water and wastewater treatment plant control-system upgrades, and intrinsically safe overflow-protection systems for Boeing fuel-farm tanks.

This industrial background provides the foundation for his current work supporting applied engineering, research prototyping, automation, instrumentation, manufacturing systems, and hands-on student learning within the College of Engineering.

Patents and other Intellectual Property

Systems and Methods for Nanofiber Guidance
Intellectual property related to ultrasonic/acoustic guidance of electrospun nanofibers using an array of transducers and a control system to generate dynamic interference patterns that guide polymer nano-streams during electrospinning. The technology is intended to improve control over nanofiber deposition, enable formation of more structured nanofiber materials, and enable continuous post-processing.

System and Method for Intertwining Nanofibers
Intellectual property related to forming intertwined, twisted, or braided nanofiber structures during electrospinning. The system uses movable emitters, conductive support surfaces, raceway-style emitter guidance, magnetic actuation, and controlled emitter motion patterns to intertwine multiple nanofibers before collection.

Grants

John A. See Innovation Award, Wichita State University, 2024
Project: Manufacturing conductive nano-scale fibers by combining electrospinning with ultrasonic phased arrays.
Awarded to support prototype development and technology advancement toward a conductive nanofiber manufacturing process using electrospinning and ultrasonic phased arrays. The project builds on a functioning prototype for acoustically guided electrospinning and supports development of systems for producing electrically conductive nanofibers.

Kansas Department of Commerce KITE Proof of Concept Fund
Project: Acoustic hologram guided electrospinning / ultrasonic manipulation of electrospun nanofibers.
Awarded to support proof-of-concept development of ultrasonic phased-array systems for manipulating electrospun nanofibers during flight. The project supported development and testing of ultrasonic array prototypes with the goal of improving control over nanofiber formation, deposition, and material properties.

Grant and Proposal Development Support
Contributed to grant and proposal-development activity related to advanced manufacturing, electrospinning, acoustic manipulation, biomedical engineering, assistive technology, applied learning, and research commercialization. Proposal-development areas have included NSF, NASA, DoD, DoE, Kansas Department of Commerce, and Wichita State University innovation and commercialization programs.

Areas of Service

• Mentoring students through hands-on engineering projects, including design review, prototyping, fabrication planning, testing, troubleshooting, documentation, and project completion.
• Supporting students pursuing Engineering+ experiences through applied project work, service learning, undergraduate research, multidisciplinary collaboration, leadership activities, and community-impact engineering projects.
• Advising student-led engineering teams and organizations, particularly projects involving assistive technology, accessibility, biomedical engineering, applied prototyping, and outreach.
• Helping students develop practical engineering habits through coaching in laboratory practice, equipment use, safety, professionalism, stakeholder communication, manufacturability, reliability, and iteration.