Announcements

Adam Brooks' participated in a team for Rensselaer Business Plan Competition. His entry "A proprietary partial hand prosthesis system that will allow better functionality and a more comfortable fit to the user" placed second in the competition.

Artharva Poundarik places 2nd in the Class of ¹51 Student Idea Competition held this spring for his bone regeneration entry. The level of competition among the more than students in this particular competition was deemed to be among the most intense that some observers have experienced in years and the winning entries were very thoroughly developed.

This personal essay described the development of the field of Biomedical Engineering from its early days, from the perspective of one who lived through that development. It describes the making of a major invention using data that had been rejected by other scientists, the re-discovery of an obscure fact of physiology and its use in developing a major medical instrument, the development of a new medical imaging modality, and the near-death rescue of a research project.

Eric Ledet has been selected as the recipient of Trustees Outstanding Teacher Award. The award was announced by President Jackson at the Faculty Recognition Awards. This award is one of the highest teaching honor given by Rensselaer. Given annually, this award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in classroom instruction. Selection is made based on evidence of sustained outstanding teaching as reflected by student evaluations, peer evaluations and letters of support from colleagues, alumni and students.

Juergen Hahn has been elected to The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows for his contributions to the field of systems biology. The induction ceremony will take place in February 2013. AIMBE is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., representing 50,000 individuals and the top 2% of medical and biological engineers. In addition, AIMBE represents academic institutions, private industry, and professional engineering societies.

Leo Wan has won the "Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering(CMBE) Conference Rising Star" award. CMBE is a special interest area within the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and Leo is one of the 10 winners selected nationally.

Deepak Vashishthhas been appointed director of the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), effective April 16. He succeeds Jonathan Dordick, who is now the vice president for research. “Deepak Vashishth is well recognized as a prominent leader within his field, which is itself an embodiment of the interdisciplinary work that is at the heart of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson.

Two of our undergraduate students have been awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. Maureen Newman is set to graduate this May and is planning to attend University of Rochester for graduate school. Alexandra McGregor has graduated and has started graduate school at Cornell University. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is the country's oldest fellowship program directly supporting graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Since 1952, NSF has funded more than 46,500 graduate research fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants.