[5][6] One of the research projects led by Hawkins developed optofluidic single-chip devices for rapid diagnosis of antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections.
[7] In their work on this project, Hawkins's team discovered that a layer of matte black nail polish with openings in specified locations could be used to make an effective light guide.
[8] With Stephen Schultz, Hawkins is the author of the textbook Practically Magic: A Guide to Electrical and Computer Engineering (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2013).
The book, based on Hawkins' childhood in New Mexico, follows a thirteen-year-old who agrees to work the apple orchard of his neighbor.
"[14][15] In 2019 he received the IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award, jointly with his collaborator, Holger Schmidt of UC Santa Cruz, "for the invention and development of optofluidic waveguides and their applications, in particular commercialization for biomedical diagnostics.