Announcements

John Drazan and Amy Loya were on a team that took the first prize in the MIT-Sloan Sports Analytics Research Paper Competition. They wrote a paper on how to use sports analytics to coach youth in order to engage them in the STEM pipeline. The prize was 10,000 dollars and a trip to the NBA summer league to present the work again to the entire NBA. There were over 200 submissions from established sports analytics groups.

Dr. Leo Wan's work on chirality is highlighted in a recent article in the magazine WIRED. The full article can be found here: https://www.wired.com/2017/02/body-can-tell-left-right/ Leo is a pioneer in studying the left-right asymmetry at a cellular level with microfabricated engineering systems. His research focuses on developing engineering platforms for embryonic development and regeneration medicine. His research has received much attention from developmental biologists in the field of left-right asymmetry.

Five faculty members of the Biomedical Engineering Department were honored at the 2016 Trustee Celebration.

Seven biomedical engineering students will be honored with Rensselaer's Founders awards. The award recipients are: Senior: Tyler Graf, Rachael Melita Graduate Student: Anthony D'Amato, Lars Gjesteby, Christopher Johnson, Troy Vargason, Alexis Ziemba The Founders Award of Excellence was established in 1994 to honor students who embody qualities of creativity, discovery, leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility at Rensselaer. The award consists of a special certificate, recognition by faculty, staff, and peers at the Honors Convocation ceremony, and a cash prize.

Sez-Jade (Kathleen) Chen, a doctoral student in the Functional and Molecular Optical Imaging lab of Dr. Xavier Intes, has received a Poster Award at the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC) in New York City. The WMIC is a competitive international conference, featuring experts in molecular imaging from academia and industry.

Dr. Ryan Gilbert is guest editor of an upcoming issue of the journal Cells, Tissue, and Organs. The special issue highlights engineering approaches for the treatment of spinal cord injury. The issue consists of articles written by alumni Abby Koppes, Ryan Koppes, and Jonathan Zuidema. Graduate students Christopher Johnson and Anthony D'Amato also contributed an article to the special issue.

Dr. Deva Chan has joined the biomedical engineering department as an Assistant Professor. Deva received her BS degree in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley (2004), a MS in Biomedical Engineering from UC Davis (2008) and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University (2012). She has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Rush University Medical Center (2013-2015) and more recently as a Research Fellow in the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.

Eric Ledet has been selected to receive the Rensselaer Alumni Association Teaching Award for 2016.