April 24, 2014,

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Lots of congratulations are in order!

• Kilean Lucas, a PhD student in the lab of James McGrath, professor of biomedical engineering, took first place in the University’s third annual Falling Walls competition on Thursday, earning him a $500 prize and an all-expenses paid trip to Berlin, Germany this fall to represent Rochester in the international Falling Walls competition. Kilean described how nanomembranes developed in the McGrath lab can be used to filter out telltale exosomes (small, cell-derived vesicles) from the blood to provide early detection of cancer. Read more here.
• Donna Porcelli’s dedication and tireless work ethic as graduate program coordinator in biomedical engineering has earned her a University Witmer Award for Distinguished Service.
• Cindy Gary (Hajim School assistant dean for grants and contracts), Debra Haring, Dale Hess, and Paula Losey of our exceptional AS&E research office team have earned a University Meliora Award for implementing a number of projects in recent years, including a new AS&E research website; the PumpPrimer seed grant program; a database for fellowships and awards; analyses of peer institutions; workshops and training sessions on grants and awards; and workshops and meetings to spark interdisciplinary collaborations throughout the University. Click here to read more about the Witmer and Meliora awards.
• Jonathan Boualavong ’16 (T5’17) of biomedical engineering has been offered a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to pursue an MPhil in chemical and process engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
• Aime Laurent Twizerimana ’20 of chemical engineering and Emmanuel Gweamee ’20, a dual major in environmental science and international relations, have been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace Grant. They will visit the Liberian capital of Monrovia in July to teach voting-age young people with disabilities about their civic responsibilities and the process for the nation’s general elections in October. They also will create a plan to transport the youths to voting sites on election day. Click here to read more about these students and their compelling project.
• Thomas Nevins, a physics PhD student doing research with Douglas Kelley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has won a 2017 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, one of only 150 given nationwide this year. The fellowships provide three years of full support for graduate study, including tuition and stipend.

Here are two upcoming events that also highlight the talents and dedication of our faculty and students.

Ming-Lun Lee, an assistant professor of audio and music engineering, will direct the Chinese Choral Society of Rochester in a concert featuring Chinese and English songs that reflect the theme of “memories” at 7:30 p.m. May 13 at Penfield High School.  The concert also features the debut of an automatic lyrics display system, developed in the lab of Zhiyao Duan, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, that can follow the music and display song lyrics in both Chinese and English to the audience in real time. “It’s always good to see your research impacting the world,” says Zhiyao.

Our Engineers Without Borders student chapter is hosting an end of the year reception at 7 p.m. May 9 in Goergen 109 to report on their trip to Don Juan, Dominican Republic in January to implement a water disinfection system for a school. This impressive project, now in its third year, is another example of how our students can make the world better, even before they graduate. RSVP to urengineerswithoutborders@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 26.

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman