Karina Torres-Castro
Research Assistant Professor & Manager of Research and Innovation
Mechanical Engineering
Education
- University of Virginia, Electrical Engineering, Ph.D. 2022
Professional Experience
- Manager of Research and Innovation, College of Engineering (CEAS), Stony Brook University, 2025-present
- Research Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University, 2025-present
- Research Associate, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 2023-2025
- NIST-Prep Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgetown University, 2022-2023
- Co-founder, Splitcell Biotechnology, 2020-2024
- Graduate Research Assistant, University of Virginia, 2016-2022
- Solar Energy Consultant, IguanaSolar (Startup), 2013-2016
- R&D Engineer, University of Costa Rica (CELEQ), 2013-2015
- Process Engineer, Firestone Industrial Products, 2010-2013
- RF Project and Material tests Intern, Ad Astra Rocket Company, 2009-2010
Research Interests and History
Karina Torres joined the College of Engineering in Fall 2025 as Manager of Research and Innovation and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on the intersection of microfluidics, computational fluid dynamics, and system integration, with applications in lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip technologies. She aims to integrate a range of electromechanical techniques such as dielectrophoresis, impedance sensing, and acoustofluidics to advance these systems.
Her interests include fluid metrology, particle manipulation and characterization, microsystem integration technologies, and bioelectronics. Through her role, she promotes collaborative research partnerships between faculty and industry, with strong potential for scalability and technology transfer.