February 7, 2022
Michael Scott, at left, and John (Jack) Thomas.
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
Two of our distinguished faculty members have received well-deserved recognition for their outstanding research and service.
Michael Scott, the Arthur Gould Yates Professor of Engineering and also professor and chair of computer science, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Michael’s widely cited research focuses primarily on systems software for parallel and distributed computing, including developing new ways to share data among concurrent activities, to automate its movement and placement, and to protect it from accidental loss or corruption.
He is best known as a co-creator of the MCS mutual exclusion lock and as the author of Programming Language Pragmatics, one of the definitive and most widely used textbooks on programming language design and implementation. Michael is an exemplary recipient of this prestigious recognition. He excels in every aspect of academics–in his research, in his teaching, and in his service to his department, school, University, and his field. Learn more.
John (“Jack”) Thomas officially retired in 2014, but the honors keep coming. Previously recognized as a fellow by the AAAS, our professor emeritus of astronomy and of mechanical and aerospace sciences, was recently named a fellow of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) as well. The award is not only for service and leadership, but five decades of groundbreaking contributions to solar and stellar physics.
Jack, now 80, has started a new chapter in his illustrious career, pursuing an altogether different but equally groundbreaking area of research. Jack is helping Maiken Nedergaard, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the Medical Center, expand on her breakthrough discoveries about the brain’s glymphatic system. The collaboration also involves mechanical engineering faculty members Douglas Kelley and Jessica Shang. “This whole thing has been absolutely amazing,” Jack says. “I have been reborn as a neuroscientist. I am learning so many things about biology that I never knew about. It’s just been wonderful.” Learn more.
RESEARCH NEWS
Nanomembrane filters, like this one developed by the McGrath Lab, are able to capture individual extracellular vesicles. (Illustration: Bradley Kwarta at Rochester Institute of Technology)
Nanomembrane filters from Jim McGrath’s lab in biomedical engineering helped University of Chicago researchers conduct one of the first projects to successfully study extracellular vesicles (EVs), as described in Communications Biology. The tiny particles, as small as 40 nanometers in diameter, carry proteins, lipids, metabolites, and genetic material unique to the cells that release them into the bloodstream and other fluid-filled cavities. As a result, the vesicles could serve as valuable biomarkers for early detection of disease, including cancer.
Jim’s lab has pioneered the development of ultrathin membranes made from silicon nitride. The membranes contain billions of tiny pores that can capture extracellular vesicles and other tiny particles in microfluidic devices that circulate different fluids around the particles in a controlled manner and measure the responses.
“We’re particularly interested in the diagnostic potential of extracellular vesicles,” Jim says. “Because tumor cells shed them abundantly, long before you ever manifest symptoms these small clues are floating in your bloodstream as potential biomarkers. Our materials have the ability to catch and isolate individual EVs because the membrane pores and EVs are about the same size.
“Anytime our materials help a collaborator do first-of-a-kind science, it’s a big deal,” Jim adds. “This paper uses our materials to reveal an important detail in biology that has never been seen before.” Learn more.
A SHOWCASE FOR GRAD STUDENTS
AS&E masters and doctoral students are invited to submit abstracts to participate in a graduate student research symposium from 3 to 5 p.m. March 23 in the Feldman Ballroom of Douglass Commons. The symposium, sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA), will include a poster session and several $300 cash prizes, including best poster in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Engineering. Submit your abstract by 5 p.m., Monday, February 14. Submissions will be reviewed and applicants notified no later than February 21. There is limited funding for poster printing support available through GEPA on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions about the event or abstract submission process, contact Katie Ferruzza at k.ferruzza@rochester.edu
ORIGAMI AND EXOPLANETS
So what is the connection between origami and the quest to find exoplanets capable of supporting life? And what’s the point of trying to find these exoplanets trillions of miles away, when we may never be able to communicate with or visit them? You’ll find answers in two delightfully engaging VOX videos produced in partnership with the Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures. The NSF-funded Physics Frontier Center is a collaboration of world-leading physicists, astrophysicists, and planetary scientists directed by Rip Collins, the Tracy Hyde Harris Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics and Astronomy, and associate director of science, technology, and academics at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
The videos, examining how exoplanets are found and why they matter, unfold in an easy-to-follow, Q&A exchange between VOX video producer Adam Cole and Sara Seager, an MIT astrophysicist. The initiative, which included a big assist from Adam Frank, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is part of CMAP’s outreach work to inspire the next generation of high energy density scientists, planetary scientists, and astrophysicists. After watching these videos, I think you’ll agree they serve that purpose extraordinarily well. So please share widely.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
