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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

College of Engineering Honors Leavesley

Silas Leavesley has had his dissertation recognized by the College of Engineering as an “outstanding idssertation.” His dissertation had been nominated for the Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation doctoral dissertation award, and while it was not selected for that honor, it was one of nine dissertations recognized by the College with a cash prize and certificate.  University News Service has the full story. 

Monday, July 02, 2007

Hopewell Wins Award

Paige Hopewell, an MD/PhD student in the Weldon School, has won the Indiana Health Industry Forum’s poster competition in the non-profit category.  The paper, “Noninvasive Monitoring of Hepatic Tissue Viability by 1H and 23Na MRI,” examines research she is doing with Dr. Navin Bansal and Dr. Tom Talavage. 

Friday, May 25, 2007

Steven Lee Honored With Helfert Award

Steven Lee, a junior in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, was honored with the $1,000 Bruce Helfert Memorial Award for outstanding junior majoring in science or engineering at the annual awards convocation. He has been involved as a Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Ambassador, implemented a peer-monitoring program for Honors Engineering and serves as president of Purdue’s Engineering World Health, a student organization he helped establish to cater to the needs of the disadvantaged. Lee participated in an internship with Stryker Corp. and did volunteer work with the Timmy Foundation, which strives to improve the availability of quality health care to children worldwide. The Helfert Award is made possible through a gift from Sylvia Helfert in memory of her son, Bruce Helfert, a 1964 Purdue graduate. He was a surgeon at March Air Force Base in California, when he died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Burton and Lee Tapped For Mortar Board

BME students Halle Burton and Steven Lee have been tapped as members of the Class of 2008 of Mortar Board, the national college senior honor society.  Members of the Barbara Cook Chapter at Purdue University are selected for superior scholarship, service to the university community, and outstanding and constant leadership.  Our congratulations to these outstanding students on being selected for this honor. 

Monday, September 18, 2006

SURF Students Finalists

No, not as in hanging ten, but as Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program.  Two SURF students, Pervin Taleyarkhan and Jillian Vitter, have been selected to showcase their research at the Society for Women Engineers National Conference in October. These two students have been working on measuring the force exerted by both trained CPR rescuers and untrained adults in the administration of CPR. The results were quite surprising. For more, check out the story. 

Friday, June 30, 2006

Alissa Russ Receives P.E.O. Scholar Award

Alissa L. Russ, a fourth-year PhD graduate student in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, has been named a recipient of the prestigious P.E.O. Scholar Award.
Russ, the daughter of of Marilynn and Roger Russ of Ottumwa, Iowa, received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural biochemistry and a math minor from Iowa State University, Ames, in 2002. She has attended Purdue since 2002. Her co-advisors are Dr. Karen M. Haberstroh and Dr. Ann E. Rundell. Her career goals are to contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge and treatment strategies as a biomedical engineer, focusing on ischemia and/or kidney research and the prevention of renal failure.

The P.E.O. Scholar Awards were established in 1991 by P.E.O. International to provide substantial awards to women in the United States and Canada who are pursuing a graduate degree or a terminal degree, or who are engaged in graduate research. In addition to recognizing and encouraging excellence in higher education, the awards provide partial support for study and research for women who will make significant contributions in their varied fields of endeavor. Priority is given to women who are well established in their graduate programs or advanced research. P.E.O. International is a philanthropic, educational organization based in Des Moines that encourages and supports women to help them realize their potential in any endeavor. From its inception in 1869, the P.E.O. Sisterhood has taken an active role in the promotion of educational opportunities for women. Education continues to be the organization¹s primary philanthropy.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Jody Riskowski Awarded NSF/Discovery Learning Fellowship

Jody Riskowski, a graduate student working with Professors Hillberry and Burr, has been selected to receive a fellowship in the National Science Foundation/Discovery Learning Center GK12 Program.

The one-year fellowship for doctoral students in the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) offers a unique opportunity for students to serve as a “visiting scientist” in order to instill the excitement of learning science into middle school classrooms. Teamed with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science and math teachers, fellows will develop lesson plans and teach interdisciplinary-focused experiments geared toward science in everyday life.

This program is being coordinated through the Discovery Learning Center at Discovery Park.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Lottes Wins IHIF Research Poster Competiton

A research poster presentation by Aaron Lottes, “A Novel Abdominal Compression Device To Improve CPR” has won the Indiana Health Industry Forum competition for academic research at the IHIF Forum in Indianapolis.  The award, announced Tuesday at the forum luncheon, includes a cash award as well as recognition before the assembled members of industry, academia, and government.  Our congratulations to Aaron and the research team. 

Alissa Russ Named to Chancellor's List

Alissa Russ, a BME graduate student working with Professor Ann Rundell, was recently named to the Chancellor’s List.

Over its 39 year history, Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students and The Dean’s List have honored the achievements of high school and college students, respectively. The Chancellor’s List is proud to continue that same tradition of integrity and support of graduate students. The purpose of the Chancellor’s List is to provide recognition for the positive academic achievements of qualified graduate level students.

Every year, professors, deans and leaders of civic and community service organizations affiliated with post graduate institutions are invited to nominate outstanding students who have achieved “Chancellor’s List” honors, or comparable academic achievement, have a B+ average or are in the upper 10% of their classes. The objective is to honor academically qualified students, however a specific institution designates them.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Megan Bosley Receives Inaugural Havel-Decker Scholarship

Megan Bosley, who will be beginning her senior year in BME this fall, has been selected to receive the inaugural Havel-Decker Scholarship.

The scholarship was created by a gift from Ken and Kitty Decker, who are both Purdue alums. Their two daughters both graduated from Purdue and married Purdue graduates. The Deckers decided to establish the scholarship to honor family members, while rewarding deserving undergraduate BME students.

Megan Bosley, the first recipient of the scholarship, is originally from Paoli, Indiana. She has been active at Purdue as a Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Ambassador, hosting outreach activities for prospective students and their parents and other campus visitors. She is still developing her career goals, but is interested in working on implantable electrical devices that improve the condition and health of the heart. After graduation, she is considering attending graduate school, perhaps working toward an MBA, with the ultimate goal of working in a nursing home or hospital administration. She is interning this summer at Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Two BME Students Receive Ronald Dollens Graduate Scholarship

Maia Mahoney and Silas Leavesley were selected as recipients of the 2005-2006 Ronald Dollens Graduate Scholarship.

The Guidant Foundation established the scholarship in late 2005 to honor Mr. Ronald Dollens in recognition of his leadership and professional ingenuity. Over the course of his career, Ron Dollens’ leadership in industry and the life sciences has served as a catalyst for many of the advances in cardiovascular research and development. Before assuming his present role at Guidant, he served as president of the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Division of Eli Lilly and Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. The scholarship is designed to support outstanding Biomedical Engineering and Industrial Pharmacy students.

Silas Leavesley is focusing his research on developing ways to detect and image cancer using visible light. Under the direction of Professor Paul Robinson, he is developing a multispectral imaging system to achieve higher imaging depth of fluorescent cancer probes in small animals. Silas is also building a novel endoscope (patent applied for) for simultaneous macroscopic (traditional endoscopic) imaging and microscopic, cellular imaging for histological identification of cancer cells in vivo. Development of these diagnostic technologies will provide less invasive or less damaging alternatives to some of the current cancer detection methods.

Maia Mahoney is using a systems biology approach to modeling the T-cell signaling pathways. By understanding the regulation and roles of the individual and the combined elements of the pathways, she and her advisor, Professor Ann Rundell, hope to develop insight into how cells control the complexity of their environment to generate different outcomes, such as T-cell activation or anergy. A quantitative analysis of how the T-cell mediates its response to both foreign and self antigens is particularly important for the design of new pharmaceutical drug targets to treat allergies, various forms of cancer, and mediating the immune response to organ transplants.

Congratulations to you both on this prestigious honor!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Byron Deorosan Awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Byron Deorosan, a graduate student studying under Professor Eric Nauman, has been selected to receive an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

The purpose of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to ensure the vitality of the scientific and technological workforce in the United States and to reinforce its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in the relevant science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. NSF Fellows are expected to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals will be crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well being of society at large.

Nationwide, only 1,000 students were selected to receive this honor. Congratulations, Byron!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

CETA Award Goes to Aaron Kyle

Aaron Kyle, a BME graduate students, was recently selected to receive the Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award (CETA - Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching Award).

The Committee for the Education of Teaching Assistants (CETA) sponsors the annual Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching Award.  For every 50
graduate students, a department is allowed to nominate one Teaching Assistant for this annual award.  Aaron Kyle was the TA chosen to represent BME this year.  Departmental winners are recognized at an annual banquet.  Students selected for this award must have demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.  In addition, award winners should have accomplishments in service/outreach and scholarly publications.

Current and past winners of this award are then also eligible to apply for the University-wide CETA award whereby winners are selected by the Graduate School/CETA Selection Committee.  Two nominees from each College are forwarded to the Graduate School/CETA Selection Committee.
Four winners are chosen from this pool of nominees.  The Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award is the highest award presented by the University in recognition of graduate student teachers. 

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Three BME Students Receive Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching

Jason Bazil, Aaron Kyle, and Silas Leavesley were recently selected to receive Purdue’s College of Engineering Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award recognizes outstanding teaching assistants and instructors through funds generated by a trust established by Estes H. and Vashti L. Magoon. Mrs. Magoon died in 1986, just prior to her 103rd birthday. 

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