Hi Jim,

Here are a few references to get you started:

The first is a reference to the MEMS research going on at Sandia
National Labs. In addition to being exciting and high-quality work, the
research there has the advantage of being highly accessible to a lay
audience -- they typically build mechanical devices at the micro-scale
whose macro-scale equivalents are household items: gears, chains, pad
locks, etc. You can find their work on-line at:

http://mems.sandia.gov/scripts/index.asp

The next two are texts that have a slightly technical bent, but are
presented at the introductory level. Either of these could serve as a
textbook for an undergraduate course in MEMS, and yet both are great
references for researchers who are active in the field of MEMS. They
are:

Marc Madou
"Fundamentals of Microfabrication"
CRC Press, 1997
http://www.biomems.net/

Greg Kovacs
"Micromachined Transducers Sourcebook"
McGraw Hill, 1998

The last is the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (JMEMS),
published by IEEE. This is highly technical, but represents the state of
the art in the field at any given time. You can find this journal
on-line at:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/RecentIssues.htm?punumber=84

Best wishes in all your efforts!

-Craig McGray
 Dartmouth College