Fall 2015

Biomedical Engineering News

Welcome to the Fall 2015 edition of the Penn State Biomedical Engineering News.

Biomedical engineering seniors gain critical marketplace skills at Coulter College training program

Six biomedical engineering seniors attended the Biomedical Engineering Society’s Coulter College in Coral Gables, Florida, August 13-16.

Four biomedical engineering students travel to Zambia for test strip venture

Janak Jethva and six other students travelled to Zambia through Penn State's Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program, led by Professor Khanjan Mehta, to conduct studies regarding Ukweli test strip venture -- a social entrepreneurship venture that attempts to provide low-cost urinary test strips to easily detect diabetes and urinary tract infections.

Graduate students, faculty and staff represent department at BMES Annual Meeting

The Penn State Department of Biomedical Engineering was amply represented during the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting October 7-10, in Tampa, FL.

Department hosts inaugral reunion event

The Department of Biomedical Engineering held their inaugural reunion event on July 11 and 12, 2015. The event commemorated graduates from both the undergraduate and graduate bioengineering programs since the department's inception in 1974. The reunion also marked the ten year anniversary of the first graduating undergraduate class of 2005.

Faculty Introduction - Lance Lian

Lance Lian has joined the Biomedical engineering department as an assistant professor.

Faculty Introduction - Pak Kin Wong

Pak Kin Wong has joined the department as a professor.

Jian Yang featured in Qmed News interview

Biomedical Engineering Professor, Jian Yang, was recently featured in an interview by Qmed News for his work with citrate materials.

Research Focus: Molecular motor grow cell's microtubules

Motor proteins that pause at the ends of microtubules and produce pushing forces can also stimulate their growth, according to researchers at Penn State. The proteins’ function could be a critical component in understanding cell division and nerve branching and growth.

Slattery selected to attend national symposium for leaders in engineering education

Margaret Slattery, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, was among 70 of the nation’s emerging leaders in engineering education selected to attend the National Academy of Engineering’s seventh annual Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium (FOEE).

Biomedical engineering promotes two faculty members

The department of biomedical engineering is pleased to announce the promotion of two faculty members effective July 1, 2015.

Manning joins ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering as associate editor

Keefe Manning, associate professor of biomedical engineering and surgery within the College of Medicine, has agreed to serve as associate editor for The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.

Wang receives $2.2M grant to develop programmable biomaterials

Yong Wang, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Penn State, was recently awarded a five-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop programmable biomaterials.

Wang and Donahue receive collaborative grant to study bone healing

Yong Wang, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, and Henry Donahue, professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, have received one of two Grace Woodward Grants for Collaborative Research in Engineering and Medicine.

Yang to serve as member of National Institutes of Health study section

Jian Yang, professor of biomedical engineering, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Biomaterials and Biointerfaces (BMBI) Study Section for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review.

Engineering faculty appointed to early career and development professorships

Eight faculty members in the College of Engineering at Penn State were recently appointed to early career and development professorships.

Zhang and Alloway receive collaborative grant to study neural systems

Nanyin Zhang, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, and Kevin Alloway, professor of neural and behavioral science at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, have received one of two Grace Woodward Grants for Collaborative Research in Engineering and Medicine.

Students to solve global engineering challenges as Grand Challenge Scholars

Chemical engineering student Nicole Bernstein and bioengineering student Nick Frazzette are leaders in a new program that will allow students to take the skills they learn in the classroom at Penn State and solve real-world engineering challenges across the globe.

Keenan and Paroda's ECHOdrive wins $10K Lemelson-MIT 'Use it!' student prize

The Lemelson-MIT Program announced today (May 19) that Justin Keenan and Kevin Paroda, both undergraduate students in the College of Engineering at Penn State, are winners in the Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize Competition.

Yiqiu Xia awarded best paper at International Conference of Solid State Sensors

Yiqiu Xia, Bioengineering Ph.D. candidate advised by Siyang Zheng, was awarded best paper at Transducers 2015- The 18th International Conference on Solid State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, held in Anchorage, AK June 21-25.

Sharon Waxmonsky: Improving people's lives with Quality Engineering

A former leader within the Women in Engineering Program at Penn State, Sharon Waxmonsky ('12 BIOE) now focuses her engineering talents towards her career with Johnson & Johnson.