August 15, 2022
Alrian Abdelrahim, at left, from the Illinois Institute of Technology; Justin Adjasu, at left in the upper right photo, from Harvard University; and Emily Leopin from the University of Tennessee/Knoxville were among the visiting students who did research here this summer as part of the Imaging in Medicine and Biology for Underrepresented Minorities Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. Julian Meeks, associate professor of neuroscience and pediatrics, also at upper right, was among the many non-Hajim faculty members who contributed to the multidisciplinary nature of this REU program. Kathleen DeFazio took these photos during the Kearns Center Summer Research Symposium.
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
This has been an active summer for undergraduate research in our labs.
For example, Megan Forney from Nazareth College has been doing “fantastic work” on a research project entitled Selective Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Toluene to Benzyl Alcohol, says Astrid Müller, assistant professor of chemical engineering. Megan, a participant in a Department of Chemistry REU program, is being mentored in the Müller lab by Madeleine Wilsey, a materials science program graduate student and “an outstanding student herself,” Astrid says.
The recent Kearns Summer Research Symposium featured projects by several of our current undergraduates and several visiting students from other colleges—like Megan— who are working with Hajim School faculty members. You can see a full list of students from multiple schools and disciplines who participated in the symposium here.
Current Hajim undergraduates who presented (and their mentors) are Sara Jo Jeiter-Johnson ’24 of computer science (Jens Kipper, philosophy); Stephany Correa-Diaz ’24 of geomechanics (Marc Porosoff, chemical engineering); Anand Idris ’23 optics (Mujdat Cetin, electrical and computer engineering), Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha ’24 biomedical engineering (Joseph Wedekind, biochemistry and biophysics); and Joshua Teague ’23 optics (William Renninger, optics).
We welcomed an outstanding group of visiting students who participated in the Computational Methods for Music, Media, and Minds REU offered through the Goergen Institute for Data Science, and the Imaging in Medicine and Biology for Underrepresented Minorities REU offered through the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The students, from a wide range of colleges and universities (see bios of the imaging REU students here) were able to experience the outstanding opportunities for multidisciplinary, cutting-edge research at our University. Our hope is that many of these students will consider returning here for graduate school.
Thanks to the Kearns Center for its support, and to the faculty members from both sides of Elmwood Avenue who welcomed these undergraduates into their labs. They include these additional Hajim School faculty members: Zhen Bai, Jiebo Luo, and Chenliang Xu (computer science); Regine Choe, Edmund Lalor, and Steven McAleavey (biomedical engineering); and Marvin Doyley, Gonzalo Mateos, and postdoctoral associate Nikhila Nyayapath (electrical and computer engineering).
Special thanks to the graduate students who provided the day to day supervision that makes a summer research experience so valuable for undergraduates.
NEW FACULTY MEMBER IN THE NEWS
“Christopher Kanan is building algorithms that can continuously learn over time—the way we do.” This recent headline in Quanta magazine aptly summarizes the exciting research Chris will be doing as a new member of our Department of Computer Science.
Chris joins us as an associate professor after serving on the faculty at Rochester Institute of Technology. He “has helped establish a new field of AI research known as continual learning,” writes Allison Whitten in her Quanta interview with Chris. “His goal is for AI to keep learning new things from continuous streams of data, and to do so without forgetting everything that came before.” Chris also discusses how philosophy helps inform his scientific work, the insights he gains from watching his two-year-old daughter learn about the world, and why he is confident AI will eventually learn the same way. Read more here.
RESEARCH NEWS
By applying a controlled force on a cartilage-on-bone explant and measuring the resulting time-dependent area of injured cells, Mark Buckley’s lab can infer the permeability of the tested cartilage and determine how it is altered in the presence of albumin and other plasma proteins.
The cartilage that protects the ends of the long bones in our knee and other joints is surrounded by synovial fluid, a thick and viscous liquid that provides lubrication and nutrients. Formed from filtered blood plasma, it contains several plasma proteins, including albumin.
Interestingly, concentrations of albumin and other plasma proteins are markedly increased in joints affected by osteoarthritis, says Mark Buckley, associate professor of biomedical engineering. Even more interesting, the extent to which these accumulations affect the cartilage’s ability to respond to mechanical loads during walking and other activities “has not been described previously despite decades of cartilage mechanics research,” Mark notes.
He has received a $460,000 National Science Foundation grant to test his hypothesis—based on preliminary findings—that the over-accumulation of these proteins in synovial fluid leads to an increase in the permeability of the cartilage, in turn impairing its ability to cushion and protect the joint.
Mark’s lab will use a combination of analytic modeling, computational modeling, and a unique cartilage explant model to carry out this project.
“The results of this study could one day impact clinical care for osteoarthritis by shedding light on how the molecular composition of synovial fluid – which may be modifiable through clinical interventions – affects cartilage mechanical properties and health,” Mark says.
GIDS NEWSLETTER
This has been a productive year at the Goergen Institute for Data Science. GIDS hosted its largest commencement ceremony to date this spring. It launched a new Summer Institute in Computational Social Science and a new Center of Excellence in Data Science summer internship program, placing students with small or start-up companies in New York State. Director Mujdat Cetin and his staff have been doing a great job of creating new opportunities for students and keeping GIDS a vital hub of learning and research for our University. Learn more in the GIDS Spring 2022 newsletter.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
