THE FU FOUNDATION SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE FALL | 2009

COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS

MAKING AN IMPACT ON HEALTH contentsfall 2009 | Volume 51, No.1

MAKING AN IMPACT ON HEALTH

3 Making an Impact on Health, 1864–Future 20 Treating Tumors in Children: Mark Borden 5 The Biology of Psychiatric Disorders: Dimitris Anastassiou 21 “Turning Off” Cancer Genes: Chris Wiggins 6 Preventing Traumatic Brain Injury: Barclay Morrison 23 Radiation-Free Tumor Treatment: Elisa Konofagou 7 Delivering Drugs Faster: Scott Banta 24 Discovering Origins of Diabetes: Itsik Pe’er 9 Unlocking the Brain’s Secrets: Elizabeth Hillman 25 Streamlining Blood Testing: Samuel K. Sia 10 Early Warning for Seizures: David Waltz 26 Bloodless Glucose Monitoring: Qiao Lin 11 Enhancing Quality of Life: Andreas Hielscher 27 Detecting “Dirty Bomb” Radiation: Y. Lawrence Yao 13 Capturing the “Aha!” Moment: Paul Sajda 28 Growing Gears for Surgical Robots: Xi Chen 14 Repairing Torn Ligaments: Helen H. Lu 29 Using Robots for Surgical Implants: Nabil Simaan 16 Combating Bone Loss: Christopher R. Jacobs 30 More Profiles of SEAS Researchers 17 Neutralizing Hepatitis C: Jung-Chi Liao Inside Back Cover Giving Back: Stanley Dicker, EngScD ’61 19 Fixing Broken Hearts and Bones: Gordana Vunjak- Novakovic

34 SEAS BY THE NUMBERS 37 PARENTS COUNCIL 37 GLOBAL DEGREES 38 CLASS DAY

Comments, suggestions, or address changes Dean of the School 39 ALUMNI NOTES may be mailed to: Feniosky Peña-Mora Columbia University Editor/Writer: Margaret R. Kelly 51 IN MEMORIAM The Fu Foundation SEAS Contributing Writers: Jeff Ballinger, Ken Kostel, Room 510, Mail Code 4718 55 CONVOCATION Anna Kuchment, Alex Lyda 500 W. 120th St. New York, N.Y. 10027 Art Director/Health Section: University Publications 56 RETURN OF THE BEANIE Portrait Photography: Eileen Barroso Phone: 212-854-4472 Reunion Photography: Barbara Alper, Eileen Fax: 212-864-0104 Barroso, Diane Bondareff, John Smock E-mail: [email protected] Engineering News is published twice a year by: Columbia University in the City of New York Columbia Engineering online at: Read more about Columbia Engineering’s The Fu Foundation School IMPACT ON HEALTH at of Engineering and Applied Science http://www.engineering. 500 W. 120th St., MC 4718 http://www.engineering.columbia.edu New York, N.Y. 10027 columbia.edu

COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 1 MAKING AN IMPACT ON HEALTH

olumbia Engineering has had a signifi cant to microcirculation, developing new approaches to cel- impact on bettering the human condition lular and molecular engineering, tissue engineering, since its founding in 1864. The School’s and orthopedic biomechanics. His discoveries on blood fi rst dean, Charles Frederick Chandler, cell mechanics, pulmonary circulation, and tissue growth Ca chemist, improved safety standards in New York have been applied to research on cancer, sickle cell dis- City for milk and water, regulated gas companies and ease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other diseases. slaughterhouses, supported compulsory smallpox vac- cinations for children, and invented the fl ush toilet. By the mid-1980s, Columbia boasted one of the largest orthopaedics research labs in the country, following the While Chandler was still dean, Michael I. Pupin, an recruitment of Van C. Mow and W. Michael Lai. Both 1883 graduate who became a professor of electrical held joint appointments, the fi rst of their kind at Co- engineering, created an X-ray tube that produced an lumbia, as professors of mechanical engineering (SEAS) image after only a few seconds of exposure. Pupin’s and orthopaedic bioengineering (P&S). 1896 discovery was only weeks after Wilhelm Roent- gen found that X-rays would produce an image after In 1995, a Whitaker Foundation grant spurred the cre- several hours of exposure. The fi rst use of the Pupin X- ation of the Center for Biomedical Engineering. Mow ray tube was medical: he helped a surgeon determine was named director of the Center and Leonard became where buckshot was imbedded in a patient’s hand. associate director of academic affairs. A second Whita- ker grant, supplemented by signifi cant funds from The As more became known about fi ghting disease, bio- Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied chemical engineering emerged as a promising fi eld. Science (SEAS) and the University, transformed the Elmer L. Gaden, a chemical engineer, received his BS center into a full-fl edged department. The department in 1944 and, after serving in the Navy, returned to Co- was launched on January 1, 2000, with Mow, who lumbia for graduate work. His doctoral thesis contained now holds the Stanley Dicker Professorship in Bio- a process for mass production of antibiotics by supplying medical Engineering, as founding chair. Today it is one the optimum amount of oxygen for the rapid growth of the most popular majors in the School, leveraging of penicillin mold. This discovery earned him the title the School’s historic strengths in biomechanics, bio- “father of biochemical engineering.” medical imaging, and cell and tissue engineering.

Gaden was a professor at Columbia for 26 years. In As you will see in the following pages, the scope of 1962, he headed the Committee on Bioengineering, health-related research at Columbia Engineering with faculty members from the College of Physicians involves almost every department. Amazing break- and Surgeons (P&S) and Engineering. It provided throughs have happened or are about to happen as an early forum for interdisciplinary cooperation. For our faculty fi ght diseases and conditions, bringing many years, it was chaired by Edward F. Leonard, pro- to bear their exceptional and unique talents to chip fessor of chemical engineering. away at problems that affect the quality of life and, indeed, life itself. In 1974, a University-wide Bioengineering Institute was established under William Nastuk, M.D., professor of physiology at P&S. Four years later, Richard Skalak ’43, ’46, ’54, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, became Feniosky Peña-Mora director. Skalak applied his knowledge of hydraulics Dean l to r: Charles Fredrick Chandler, Michael I. Pupin, bioreactor on microscope stage (courtesy of Gordana Vunjak-Novokovic)

2 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 3 MAKING AN IMPACT the biology of psychiatric disorders

DIMITRIS ANASTASSIOU | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Little is known about the biological causes for psychi- that a person may be predisposed to a disease if two atric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar, which SNPs at different locations in the genome have the un- combined affl ict an estimated 10 million people nation- usual letter combinations, rather than each one of them wide. Columbia researchers are working hard to change alone, a phenomenon called “synergy.” There is a huge that by exploring the role of genetics from a multidis- number (about a million squared) of “synergy” pairs of ciplinary approach. SNPs, resulting in signifi cant computational and statisti- cal challenges for this project. To perform this research, Electrical engineering professor Dimitris Anastassiou’s Anastassiou has a high-performance computer cluster aim is to discover novel biological mechanisms respon- containing 800 processors at his disposal. sible for psychiatric disorders. Given the limited success of identifying signifi cant individual risk-conferring ge- Karayiorgou and her team biologically interpret Anas- detection of single netic variants, such as single mutations in DNA, Anastas- tassiou’s resulting computational outputs and attempt nucleotide polymor- siou says discovery of responsible interactions among mul- to genetically validate the identifi ed interactions. If the phisms tiple genetic variants may reveal new disease mechanisms. resulting biological hypotheses involving two genes are deemed promising, they will test those using in vitro Anastassiou and Maria Karayiorgou, professor of psychi- neurobiological experiments. atry and medical genetics at the Columbia University Medical Center, are principal investigators on a proj- “The aim is to discover the biological mechanisms re- ect that will identify single nucleotide polymorphisms sponsible for psychiatric disorders,” says Anastassiou. (SNPs, pronounced “snips”) that are jointly, rather than “Once such mechanisms are discovered, the ultimate vi- individually, associated with disease. sion is to develop drugs that would interfere with these mechanisms.” A SNP is a small genetic change that can occur within a person’s DNA sequence. The genetic code is specifi ed Anastassiou, who received his PhD from the University by the four nucleotide “letters” A (adenine), C (cyto- of California, Berkeley, is a prominent leader in digi- sine), T (thymine), and G (guanine). SNP variation oc- tal technology. His research has resulted in Columbia curs when a single nucleotide, such as an A, replaces being the only university in a consortium that licenses one of the other three nucleotide letters—in this case MPEG-2, the technique used in all forms of digital tele- C, T, or G. vision transmission, including DVDs, direct satellite TV, HDTV, digital cable systems, personal computer video, An example of a SNP is the alteration of the DNA seg- and interactive media. ment AAGGTTA to AAGTTTA, where the fourth let- ter in the fi rst snippet, G, is replaced with a T. On aver- An IEEE Fellow, he is also the recipient of an IBM Out- age, SNPs occur in the human population more than standing Innovation Award, a National Science Founda- one percent of the time, but, because neighboring SNPs tion Presidential Young Investigator Award, and a Co- are statistically linked, researchers only need about one lumbia University Great Teacher Award, and he holds million of them to analyze our genomes. 11 U.S. and 8 international patents, which combined have so far brought close to $100 million in revenues to The traditional approach looked only at individual Columbia University. SNPs. Anastassiou’s research investigates the possibility

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brain-slice culture of the SCOTT BANTA | CHEMICAL ENGINEERING hippocampus showing delivering neuronal cell bodies People suffering from brain diseases and conditions ranging from traumatic brain injuries to brain cancer to progressive brain diseases could be helped if therapeutic drugs could be deliv- drugs faster ered to the affected area. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), composed of high-density cells, acts as part of the body’s defense system to block bacteria and other substances carried in the blood from invading the brain. It is so effective that it makes it all but impossible to deliver important diagnostic and therapeutic agents to the brain also.

Scott Banta has had signifi cant success in solving this problem by using a biochemical ap- preventing traumatic proach, creating specifi c cell penetrating peptides (SCPPs) that can cross the BBB and target specifi c brain cell populations. Banta, an associate professor of chemical engineering, and his research group are engineering new peptides that are specifi c for different cell and tissue types. brain injury The plasma membrane protects cells by regulating the access of molecules to the cellular cy- toplasm. Only compounds within a narrow range of size, charge, and polarity are able to cross the membrane.

Using the process Directed Evolution, the Banta group is creating new SCPPs that are able to BARCLAY MORRISON both target and penetrate specifi c cells. These peptide sequences can deliver therapeutic cargos, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING such as DNA, proteins, drugs, or other exogenous materials, to the targeted cellular cytoplasms.

Motor vehicle accidents account for more than half of the 1.5 million traumatic engineered fl uores- Collaborating with Barclay Morrison of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Banta brain injuries (TBIs) that occur each year. Finding ways to prevent, treat, and cent proteins (green) is seeking to create SCPPs that are specifi c for different brain cell types. There is a narrow repair TBIs is the basis for the research of Barclay Morrison, associate professor of interacting with DNA window of time following a brain injury where the targeted delivery of neurotrophic agents biomedical engineering, and his Neurotrauma and Repair Laboratory team. molecules (orange) to injured cells could provide a signifi cant benefi t to the head-injured patient. In addition, delivery of neurotrophic factors via SCPPs could be benefi cial in slowing down the progress At the moment of injury, some brain tissue is instantaneously destroyed and can of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. never be saved by post-injury treatment, so prevention becomes all the more important. Using an atomic force microscope, Morrison is measuring materi- Before joining Columbia SEAS, Banta, who received his PhD from Rutgers University, was a al properties of anatomical structures within the brain that can be used by the postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Engineering in Medicine, and National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration to set standards for automotive at Shriners and Massachusetts General Hospitals. manufacturers.

“We’re determining the safe limits of brain deformation, which is the underly- ing cause of TBI, to learn what the brain can withstand, so safety systems can be designed to minimize the trauma,” says Morrison.

Morrison’s group is also working with the aftermath of TBIs. One approach investigates the brain’s own initial response, which is an attempt to repair the damaged neural connections and replace lost tissue. For reasons yet unknown, this repair process is aborted. If Morrison can fi nd a way to short-circuit this response, it may be possible to harness and control the brain’s innate potential for repair. It may even be possible to grow replacement neural tissue from a patient’s own stem cells via neural tissue engineering.

In a scenario directly from The Six Million Dollar Man or The Bionic Woman, Morrison sees the possibility of interfacing neurons directly onto silicone cir- cuitry to control a prosthesis. While this technology is now only imagined, he continues to investigate the factors that infl uence the ability of neurons to form connections with silicone circuitry, hoping for a breakthrough that can immedi- ately impact the lives of thousands.

After receiving his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, Morrison was a post- doctoral researcher in TBI there and later at the University of Southampton, U.K.

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unlocking the brain’s secrets ELIZABETH HILLMAN | BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Walk into any clinical research lab and you will un- in live lab mice, which she hopes will allow pharma- doubtedly fi nd one or more microscopes. The problem ceutical companies and researchers to study diseases and with conventional microscopes, however, is they can treatments without sacrifi cing large numbers of animals. only show images of thin slices of dead tissue or cells in She has also developed techniques to make images of a dish. It takes a special kind of instrument to produce living human skin, resulting in an imaging system that images from inside the living body, which is exactly the shows promise as a way to minimize excision while re- kind that Elizabeth Hillman is building. moving skin cancers from the face, and she is using opti- cal imaging to investigate how the electrical activity in “It is a signifi cant technical challenge to build imaging cardiac tissue changes during a heart attack. systems capable of studying cellular or molecular pro- cesses in living organisms,” says Hillman, assistant pro- Because all of these measure different wavelengths of fessor of biomedical engineering and radiology. “You light, none require the heavy shielding or careful dose need devices that can image very fast and in 3D and that monitoring necessary in radiologic imaging. Moreover, show you lots of different things at once. It’s a complex almost all take advantage of existing contrast agents, problem, one that forces you to think about physiology such as blood, which changes color as its oxygenation and physics at the same time.” level changes, or green fl uorescent protein (GFP), which can be modifi ed to label specifi c types of cells. astrocytes (cyan) inter- One of the primary areas of focus in Hillman’s lab is acting with blood vessels using optical imaging techniques such as microscopy Hillman hopes that ultimately many of her imaging (red) in the living brain to investigate the brain, particularly the relationship tools will prove useful in the clinic and as laboratory between blood fl ow and neuronal activity. Functional research tools, where they can be used to improve fun- magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), one of the most damental understanding of both physiology and disease. ubiquitous tools used to investigate neuronal activity, She is quick to point out, however, that although optical relies on detecting subtle changes in blood fl ow in the methods are extremely well suited to clinical applica- brain. “The problem is, we really don’t understand why tion, she does not expect her techniques to entirely re- these changes in blood fl ow occur,” says Hillman. “Even place MRIs. “Optical imaging isn’t going to be the next the best neuroscience textbooks only devote a page or MRI,” she says. “MRIs do some things well, but they so to blood fl ow in the brain.” can’t tell you things like how bad the burn on your arm is or whether you have good blood fl ow in the back of Hillman’s work is beginning to tease out this complex your eye. Our systems can.” process, improving our fundamental understanding of how the brain functions, and also raising the possibility Hillman, who received her PhD from University Col- that fMRIs will one day prove even more useful and lege, London, did postdoctoral research at Massachusetts revealing. In another project, she is developing a tech- General Hospital’s Center for Biomedical Imaging be- nique that permits her to create images of the organs fore coming to Columbia.

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cross section of a fi nger joint as seen by the optical tomographic imager

early warning for enhancing quality seizures of life

DAVID WALTZ ANDREAS HIELSCHER CENTER FOR COMPUTATIONAL LEARNING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects nearly 20 Epilepsy and seizures affect almost 3 million Americans of all ages, with ap- million people worldwide, striking young people as well as old, causing pain, proximately 200,000 new cases occurring each year. Recently, new cases have stiffness, and swelling of the joints. Early diagnosis and treatment can slow or developed as a result of traumatic brain injury to soldiers in the aftermath of prevent joint damage and increase the likelihood of leading an active and full IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. For 25 percent of these people, neither life. medication nor surgery can control their seizures. Leading an international team of engineers, scientists, and physicians from Working with neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Center, SEAS Germany and the U.S., Andreas Hielscher, associate professor of biomedical senior research scientist David Waltz, director of the Center for Computational engineering and radiology, has developed a 3D optical tomographic (OT) Learning Systems, is developing a wearable “early warning” device to give imaging system that displays disease activity in joints. Results from recent epilepsy patients enough time to prepare for a seizure. clinical trials indicate that his system can identify affected joints earlier than any other method. This warning device will use detector software based on advanced machine learning technology to detect an impending seizure. Co-PI Columbia neu- In another project, members of his Biophotonics and Optical Radiology Lab- rophysiologist Catherine Schevon is collecting data via microelectrodes im- oratory are completing a dynamic optical imaging system for the diagnosis of planted in patients’ heads that supply the sample data at a rate of 30,000 times breast cancer. Breast cancer affl icts one in nine women during their lifetime per second. This faster sample means higher-frequency brain waves can be and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Hielscher’s pat- detected, and these may play a pivotal role in seizures. ented imaging technology has been licensed by a New York company and clinical pilot studies using the new imager are underway. Once the software is developed, a patient would carry a small computer that monitors brain activity. The system would then reliably warn the patient in Hielscher also employs OT imaging to localize green fl uorescent proteins advance of seizures. Such a system would allow patients who cannot be treated (GFPs), developed by Columbia’s 2009 Nobel laureate Martin Chalfi e. GFPs successfully today to live a fuller and more active life. and their derivatives make it possible to see and monitor cell and tissue be- haviors during development, including observation of cancerous tumors in The researchers’ long-term goal is to design machine-learning interfaces that vivo. Hielscher and his colleagues use GFP to study the growth of cancers could learn what brain-wave features predict seizures in individual patients. in the stomach, liver, and brain. Most recently, he is applying this technology Hypothetically, this system could eventually take the form of an implanted to monitor drug effects in diffi cult-to-treat early childhood cancers, such as “brain pacemaker,” stimulating the brain to prevent the seizure from happen- an implantable 96-pin neuroblastoma and Wilms tumors. ing in the fi rst place. electrode array, used for Columbia’s seizure He received his PhD degree in electrical and computer engineering from prediction project, from Waltz received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Rice University, was a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Blackrock Microsystems, his thesis on computer vision originated the fi eld of constraint propagation. and was on the faculty at State University of New York Downstate Medical Inc. Along with Craig Stanfi ll, he also is well known as the originator of the mem- Center prior to coming to SEAS in 2001. ory-based reasoning branch of Case-Based Reasoning.

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capturing the “aha!” moment

PAUL SAJDA | BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

It is very diffi cult to ask a computer to fi nd something present more images that are likely to pique that per- that is funny to a particular person on the Internet. It is son’s interest. even more diffi cult to build a computerized vision sys- tem that can fi nd something that is funny or suspicious His work has drawn the attention of the Defense Ad- or interesting—and fi nd its way around a room. vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for its po- tential to help conduct a sort of visual triage by sifting Yet, countless times a day—often without realizing it— quickly through petabytes (that’s a million gigabytes) of humans make split-second decisions based on what we satellite imagery or hours of surveillance tapes. At the see and on our subjective knowledge. It might be as same time, he is also working with researchers at Co- simple as clicking a link that catches our interest online, lumbia University Medical Center on techniques that or recognizing a friend from a 50-millisecond glimpse enhance the brain’s ability to make quick decisions. But of their face across a crowded room. But no matter how the question that most fascinates Sajda is what his stud- effortless the decision-making process may seem, the ies of the brain’s visual recognition networks can do to effort to translate that into an automated system has reveal the organ’s fundamental ability to process massive proved daunting. amounts of information.

“We can build a computer that’s good at very constrained “It’s still unclear at what scale the brain processes infor- decision-making, but general purpose, rapid decision- mation,” says Sajda. “It could be groups of neurons, it making is diffi cult,” says Paul Sajda, associate professor could be the whole brain. We don’t know.” of biomedical engineering and radiology. “It might be able to detect what is interesting or novel, but it doesn’t Growing up on Long Island, Sajda knew he wanted to always know what’s interesting or novel to you.” be an engineer, but said he was also fascinated by the EEG image as the brain anatomy and physiology of living things and the fact processes visual stimuli Those two tasks—rapid decision-making and identify- that a collection of ions and some sugars can band to- (orange) ing subjective interests—are, however, exactly what Sa- gether to form a living organism. At the same time, jda (SHY-da) and his team are succeeding in building. helping his father deal with multiple sclerosis focused At the same time, Sajda is attempting to reveal the most Sajda’s interest on the brain. That fascination with liv- basic neural structures in the brain that process visual ing systems continues to infuse his work, at the same information. time that his engineering perspective is helping redefi ne what we know—and what may be knowable—about In his Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural the human brain. Computing (LIINC), Sajda connects subjects to an EEG and fl ashes a series of images on a computer screen to Sajda, who received his PhD from the University of record the neurological equivalent of the “Aha!” mo- Pennsylvania, was head of adaptive image and signal ment signaling interest or recognition. Once the “corti- processing at Sarnoff Research Center prior to joining cally coupled computer vision system” is calibrated to the SEAS faculty in 2000. recognize the things that interest an individual, it can

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HELEN H. LU | BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Many sports-related injuries involve soft tissues such scaffold is biocompatible and biodegradable, and will ul- as ligaments, which connect bone with bone, and ten- timately be replaced by living tissue, thus becoming part dons, which join muscle to bone. Each year, more than of the body. 200,000 people suffer damage to their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the primary ligament that stabilizes the In collaboration with Dr. Scott Rodeo, an orthopae- knee joint. Tears of the ACL are especially common in dic surgeon from the Hospital for Special Surgery, Lu professional football players. But ACL tears are not just and her research group are working on the design of an injury for the guys. Statistics show that ACL tears an integrative interference screw. The interference screw, have become a mini-epidemic for young women play- used to fi x an ACL graft in place, is usually made of ing soccer or any other sport with lateral motion. titanium alloys, but a tissue-engineered screw has none of the drawbacks of a permanent metallic implant and With the rate of ACL tears and other soft tissue injuries promotes integrative repair. osteoblast-fi broblast increasing in all segments of the population, it is a hope- co-culture on the inter- ful sign that Professor Helen H. Lu has developed a new This new method will move ACL repair from traditional face region of triphasic approach to help the body heal after these debilitating mechanical fi xation to biological fi xation, resulting in scaff old soft tissue injuries. One of the major hurdles preventing longer-lasting and stronger repair. Lu’s pioneering work healing lies in integrating soft tissue grafts with the body, on the ligament-bone interface was recently recognized and Lu’s group has focused on engineering the interface when she received the Presidential Early Career Award that connects soft tissue to bone. While tissue engineer- for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the nation’s ing has traditionally involved a single-tissue approach, highest honor for young scientists. Lu is growing multiple tissues to build functional organ systems that will integrate with the body. Lu’s group is extending the interface tissue engineering approach to the repair of another critical soft tissue-to- “With the ACL-bone interface, we see three distinct bone transition area, the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is yet continuous tissue regions—ligament, fi brocartilage, where four delicate muscles and tendons hug or “cuff” and bone,” says Lu. “As we understand how the bio- the shoulder’s ball and socket. Tears in the rotator cuff logical interfaces between these different types of tissues are one of the most debilitating and common injuries of are formed and how to reestablish these distinct tissue- the shoulder, and similar to the ACL, integration of the to-tissue boundaries post-injury, we can regenerate the tendon and bone remains a critical challenge. native soft tissue-to-bone interface and promote inte- gration.” In collaboration with Dr. William Levine, a shoulder surgeon at Columbia, Lu is developing special nanofi - Lu has developed a novel “scaffolding” to grow these ber-based scaffolds that mimic the native tissue in or- three different tissue types within one functional sys- ganization as well as functionality for integrative rotator tem. This interface scaffold is stratifi ed, with each layer cuff repair. This work is funded by the NIH and a recent differing in architecture, porosity, and composition to grant from the New York State Stem Cell Science (NY- best nurture each particular cell type, while integrating STEM) Initiative. seamlessly with the adjacent tissue. Each portion of the

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elastic network model of hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase

bone marrow stem cell with the primary cilia stained in red neutralizing hepatitis C

JUNGCHI LIAO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Nearly 3 million people in the U.S. are infected each year with the hepatitis Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for more than half of all Americans. An estimated C virus, the major cause of liver cancer. Worldwide, roughly 3 percent of the 10 million already have the disease and another 34 million are at high risk of developing porous population is infected. combating bones, shortening lives and increasing health care costs. Mechanical engineering assistant professor Jung-Chi Liao is making progress Christopher Jacobs, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is working to unlock a stem toward the effort to fi nd an effective treatment for the virus. He has focused bone loss cell mystery that could provide signifi cant advances in the treatment for osteoporosis. He has re- his research on exploring the DNA helicase—or enzymes—of the hepatitis C ceived a $1 million New York State grant to research stem cell behavior related to the condition. virus. Osteoporosis occurs when bone marrow stem cells fail to produce bone-forming osteoblasts in suffi cient numbers. Very little is known, however, about the cellular mechanism by which bone Liao’s work is related to the recent discovery of a peptide that inhibits the func- CHRISTOPHER R. JACOBS marrow stem cells sense and respond to changes in their mechanical loading environment. tioning of the hepatitis C virus enzyme NS3 helicase, providing new insights. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Specifi cally, several hot-spot residues have been identifi ed to convert ATP en- Jacobs’ Cell and Molecular Biomechanics Laboratory will determine whether a novel cellular ergy to separate the virus’s DNA. Liao is currently conducting comparative sensor, the primary cilium, is responsible for the stem cell’s ability to sense mechanical loading. studies among different helicases to better understand the variations of coupling His lab was one of the fi rst to show that primary cilia act as mechanical sensors in bone cells. mechanisms. The project will characterize the ability of transplanted stem cells to home in on sites of bone loading and form new bone and then determine whether the stem cells retain this ability if their Based on his discovery of dynamical coupling mechanisms and the resulting primary cilia are fi rst disrupted. different conformations, pharmaceutical companies may now be able to identify better drug candidates to inhibit ATP binding sites of hepatitis C virus NS3 “If the hypothesis is proven to be true, it will be a breakthrough in skeletal mechanobiology helicase. Liao has been invited by InterMune Inc., one of the major biotechnol- and suggest approaches for new anti-osteoporosis drugs,” Jacobs says. “It will also be a signifi cant ogy companies focusing on drug development for hepatitis C virus infections, advance in relating primary cilia dysfunction to human disease.” to give a seminar presentation of this work.

Jacobs, who earned his PhD from Stanford University, was an assistant professor in the Depart- Liao joined Columbia SEAS in 2008 after posts as a research associate in the ment of Orthopaedic Surgery at Pennsylvania State University before coming to SEAS. Department of Bioengineering at Stanford and as a postdoctoral fellow in mo- lecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

16 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 17 MAKING AN IMPACT fi xing broken hearts and bones

GORDANA VUNJAKNOVAKOVIC | BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans will have a new Vunjak-Novakovic’s work in craniofacial tissues is now coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent concentrated on the human mandibular condyle, the end attack, while more than 35 million Americans suffer from of the lower jaw. This only moving part in the head has a TMJ—temporomandibular joint disorders. What is the complex structure and function, and is not easy to restore. connection? The work of Professor Gordana Vunjak-No- Her goal is to produce a fully functional, anatomically vakovic of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, shaped vascularized graft to replace a worn TMJ. who is building complex human tissues that may help resolve both these debilitating conditions. When she came to SEAS in 2005, Vunjak-Novakovic helped design her own top-of-the-line lab for human stem “As a biomedical engineer actively involved in this fi eld, I cells and functional tissue engineering in the Vanderbilt look forward to unlocking the full regenerative potential Clinic on the University Heights campus. Her lab hosts the of human stem cells, so we can cure disease and live lon- Bioreactor Core of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ger than our failing organs,” she says. Tissue Engineering Resource Center, just renewed for an- other fi ve years. With its “bioreactor shop,” and a group of Whether it is bone or muscle, the fundamental engineer- 25 talented students and postdocs, the lab is the place to go ing and developmental biology principles are the same. if you need an advanced culture system. Last year she led As director of Columbia’s Laboratory for Stem Cells and the team of 26 investigators to bring to SEAS a new Stem Tissue Engineering, Vunjak-Novakovic uses biomimetics, Cell Functional Imaging Core, established through a grant “the science of imitating nature,” to create environments awarded by New York State’s Stem Cell Board. promoting tissue development or regeneration. A bioreactor on microscope “This sophisticated bioreactor and imaging instrumenta- stage: observing human tissue Each tissue should ideally receive its own kind of scaf- tion has moved stem cell research from the ‘fl at biology’ growth as it happens folding and its own culture environment. To engineer of petri dishes to controllable models of high biological thick, vascularized, and electromechanically functional fi delity, which can be studied in real time to observe the cardiac tissue, Vunjak-Novakovic cultures stem cells, the interacting factors mediating self-renewal and differentia- actual “tissue engineers,” on a channeled elastomer scaf- tion of stem cells,” she says. “We now have the capacity to fold perfused with culture medium containing oxygen develop entirely new research paradigms and approaches carriers, to mimic blood fl ow. Electrical fi eld stimula- to engineering human tissues.” tion is applied during culture to mimic electrical pacing within the heart. Vunjak-Novakovic is one of the country’s leading tissue engineers. She received her PhD degree in chemical en- This research may lead to a heart patch that could be gineering from the University of Belgrade, and was at the laid over injured heart tissue to restore normal function Harvard-MIT Division for Health Sciences and Technol- in someone who has suffered a heart attack. Another ogy for 12 years before coming to SEAS. She is a fellow promising application for engineered cardiac tissue is of the American Institute for Medical and Biological En- drug testing. The use of patient-specifi c engineered hu- gineering, one of 70 women in the Women in Technol- man tissues, instead of cells alone or in animal models, ogy International Hall of Fame, the chair of her NIH may be a way to determine the drug’s actual effect on the study section, and a highly cited author of more than 240 ultimate user. scientifi c articles and two textbooks.

18 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 19 MAKING AN IMPACT

treating tumors in children

MARK BORDEN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Each year in the U.S., approximately 650 children are diagnosed with neu- roblastoma, a cancerous tumor in nerve tissue, most often in the adrenal glands in the abdomen. For this, and for many other childhood cancers, surgery is not an option.

At Columbia’s Pediatric Tumor Biology Laboratory, a new way to deliver tumor-killing gene therapy is being developed by Mark Borden, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and his pediatric oncology colleagues. The key to unlocking complex problems like the biological cause of cancer—the second- The vehicle is microbubbles, tiny gas bubbles—about 100 times smaller leading cause of all deaths—may lay in the fundamental building blocks of life. than the width of a human hair—that can be safely injected into the blood- “turning off” stream without the danger of forming emboli. How genes control each other—and how to predict that activity—is a research focus of Chris Wiggins, associate professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. In groundbreaking research sponsored by St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which cancer genes He is working to develop models that predict how genes behave to explain how some cells supports research of childhood cancers, Borden has shown that microbub- become cancerous. bles can encapsulate tumor-killing gene therapy, protecting the cargo in the bloodstream. When the bubbles are at the tumor site, he uses ultrasound to “The relationship between biology and mathematics has completely changed in the last de- release the genes into the tumor cells. cade,” Wiggins explains. “New technologies have transformed biology into a data-rich science, and advances in algorithms have made possible data-driven predictive modeling in biology. At “The microbubbles oscillate strongly with ultrasound,” says Borden, “and the same time, the World Wide Web made it possible for any biologists to share their data with the bubbles implode, causing holes in the tumor walls. The genes enter the CHRIS WIGGINS the entire mathematical community with the click of a mouse.” tumor and repair the defective cancer-causing cells.” This methodology is APPLIED PHYSICS AND much safer than using viruses to carry the gene therapy to the tumors. Vi- APPLIED MATHEMATICS Wiggins and his collaborators have shown how one can use these data, along with the appro- ruses often trigger the body’s natural defenses, including anaphylactic shock, priate math, to learn which genes are controlling which other genes and why. “The problem resulting in patient death. is a bit like watching stocks go up and down, and trying to predict which stocks are driving each other,” he says. Borden also uses microbubbles to create clearer images of pediatric tumors and assess the effi cacy of treatment. Using a contrast medium carried by While the architecture of the underlying genetic network is a basic biological topic, Wiggins the microbubbles, high frequency ultrasound can show changes in tumor says “it is at the root of numerous biological diseases, including cancer, and we are now on the growth to evaluate how well treatment is working. threshold of fi nding more of those genetic links.”

After receiving his PhD from the University of California, Davis, Borden Wiggins, who earned his PhD in theoretical physics from Princeton and was an NSF post- fl uorescence mi- was a postdoctoral researcher there in biomedical engineering and in radi- doctoral research fellow in biomathematics at the Courant Institute, has had his work profi led croscopy images of ology at the Arizona Cancer Center. in Scientifi c American. microbubbles functional modules in a —P protein-protein interac- tion network

20 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 21 MAKING AN IMPACT radiation-free tumor treatment

ELISA KONOFAGOU | BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine the blood-brain barrier, they fl ow across the entire brain, showed that two-thirds of adults underwent medical tests not just the diseased areas, causing, in some cases, severe in the last few years that exposed them to radiation and, side effects. in some cases, a higher risk of cancer. Elisa Konofagou, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and ra- The technique Konofagou has pioneered sends ultra- diology, is pioneering new uses for an imaging technol- sound waves through a millimeter-specifi c brain region ogy that is radiation free, less expensive than CT scans and the intact skull, causing that part of the blood-brain and MRIs, yet just as effective: ultrasound. Moreover, barrier to open. Medicine would be injected by IV and she is going beyond ultrasound’s traditional application would reach only its intended target. “The idea is to use as a diagnostic tool, using it to treat diseases like cancer, this in conjunction with systemically administered drugs Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. that have been shown to work yet have been shelved be- cause of the fact that they are not passing through,” says In the area of oncology, Konofagou is developing a tool Konofagou. that could identify and destroy tumors without the need for surgery. Her technology, called harmonic motion im- Konofagou has also deployed ultrasound in the fi eld of aging, uses ultrasound to probe soft tissue in search of ab- cardiology. As patients, especially men, age, their risk of normal growths. “You’re basically knocking on different developing an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fi brillation, parts of the organ until you detect a different amplitude grows. The arrhythmia originates in the upper chambers in one particular location,” she says. She has found that of the heart, which begin sending rapid, disorganized ultrasound can distinguish benign from cancerous tumors electrical signals to the rest of the organ. Konofagou’s neurotrophic factors (brown stain) after ultra- and that its beam can be aimed with extreme precision to myocardial elastography can identify and localize the cul- sound-induced opening detect and ablate, or destroy, the abnormality. prit portions of the heart.

If proven effective, the technique could be used in inop- Following diagnosis, the same technique can be used to erable cancers of the brain, prostate, pancreas, and kid- evaluate treatment, such as after using radiation-free abla- neys. She and Columbia breast surgeon Kathie-Ann Jo- tion to restore the heart’s natural rhythm. In the future, seph plan to test harmonic motion imaging and ablation she hopes her innovations may allow for an inexpensive, within the next fi ve years in patients with benign breast noninvasive screening test for heart disease. “I believe ul- tumors who would otherwise have to undergo painful trasound can do anything,” she says. Each day, her research surgery. is bringing that statement closer and closer to reality.

In the area of neurology, Konofagou is deploying ultra- A PhD graduate of a joint program of the University sound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier to of Houston and the University of Texas Medical School, help treat patients with diseases like Alzheimer’s, Par- Konofagou was a research fellow at Brigham and Wom- kinson’s, and ALS. Currently, physicians have few good en’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School prior to join- options when it comes to treating these patients. Their ing the SEAS faculty. choices include direct injection—taking a needle and sticking it deep into the brain to deliver medicine—or IV drugs. While a small percentage of the latter can cross

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streamlining blood testing

SAMUEL K. SIA BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Doctors in developing countries will soon be able to use handheld devices to collect and analyze blood tests at a patient’s bedside to diagnose infectious and other diseases, thanks to research by Samuel K. Sia, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia SEAS.

Nearly 50 million people nationwide struggle with type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol, and rates The devices, now undergoing fi eld tests in Rwanda, require only a fi nger are increasing annually. The clues to why some people are more susceptible than others are being prick of blood and provide quantitative results in less than 20 minutes. The discovered on a small Pacifi c Island, where SEAS researchers are discovering new genetic variation discovering aim of the new technology is to signifi cantly reduce the time between testing and associating it with metabolic disease. patients and treating them, without increasing costs or regulatory burdens.

Itsik Pe’er, an assistant professor of computer science, is developing analytical methods for analysis of origins of “Nowhere is the need for new diagnostic technologies greater than in de- DNA sequence variants. Recent technological breakthroughs now allow high-throughput observa- veloping countries, where people suffer disproportionately from infectious tion of these genetic alterations along the genome (an individual’s collection of genetic material). disease compared to the U.S. and Europe,” says Sia. diabetes Such heritable changes are thought to be responsible for 40 to 90 percent of population risk to a wide variety of health conditions, from diabetes to schizophrenia. The Pe’er group is studying a The “lab-on-a-chip” technology uses microfl uidics—the manipulation of population from the Pacifi c Island of Kosrae, in the Federated States of Micronesia, which suffers small amounts of fl uids—to miniaturize and automate routine laboratory tests from increased rates of metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol. onto a handheld microchip. The devices are being developed in a collabora- ITSIK PE’ER The unique genetic makeup of the islanders, who have been isolated for thousands of years, makes tion between Sia’s lab and Claros Diagnostics Inc., a venture capital-backed COMPUTER SCIENCE them ideal for genetic studies, but their interrelatedness makes analysis of their DNA extremely startup company that Sia co-founded in 2004. complex. Sia, who holds a PhD from Harvard University, received a CAREER Award The Pe’er group has developed computational tools to decipher remote family ties between individ- from the National Science Foundation that supports his work in developing uals based on identity of genomic segments inherited by descent from a recent unknown ancestor. biocompatible microelectromechanical systems and implantable medical de- These analytical methods enabled examination of 500,000 polymorphic sites along the genomes of imagery of a microfl uid- vices, such as glucose sensors. ic chip for global health 3,000 Kosraeans, representing most of the adult population. The lab was thus able to discover mul- diagnostics tiple new disease genes for health traits. Based on these disease associations, the researchers were able A recipient of the Walter H. Coulter Early Career Award in 2008, Sia partici- to sequence the entire genome of representatives of the Kosraean population, resulting in discoveries pated in the National Academy of Engineering’s U.S. Frontiers of Engineer- that have broad implications for anyone with these metabolic diseases. ing symposium for the nation’s brightest young engineers in 2007. model of DNA Pe’er earned a PhD from Tel Aviv University and was a postdoctoral researcher at several institutions, including the Weizmann Institute of Science and Massachusetts General Hospital.

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implantable glucose microsensor: a freestanding polymer diaphragm with embedded permalloy actuation strips and a gold capacitive sensing electrode.

bloodless glucose monitoring QIAO LIN | MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

More than a million people with type 1 diabetes—an autoimmune disease that is In the realm of national preparedness, few scenarios are as scary as the possibility of a life-threatening unless treated with frequent doses of insulin—will soon be able “dirty bomb.” The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a $25 million grant to check their blood sugar levels without the daily drawing of their own blood. to fi nd new technologies that will provide rapid mass-screening of radiation exposure.

A team of researchers, led by mechanical engineering associate professor Qiao detecting Professor Y. Lawrence Yao, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, to- Lin, has invented a microfabricated, miniature sensor that can eventually be im- gether with researchers from Columbia University Medical Center and department planted in a patient’s body for long-term, continuous glucose monitoring. It will colleagues, are part of a multi-institute consortium that, among other tasks, is charged be part of a closed-loop system that will automatically deliver insulin to diabetic “dirty bomb” with developing a high-throughput “biodosimetry” device capable of rapidly testing a patients based on blood sugar levels. large swath of the population in the event that an RDD (radioactive dispersal device), commonly called a “dirty bomb,” is detonated in a major metropolitan area. Lin’s glucose sensor consists of a microscopic diaphragm (or cantilever), which radiation vibrates under remote magnetic excitation in a microchamber fi lled with a glu- This group is collaborating on an effort to design the most effective and quickest tech- cose-sensitive polymer solution. When glucose enters the chamber through a nologies that involve advanced imaging, lasers, and robotics. Radiation affects cell divi- semipermeable membrane, it binds reversibly with the polymer, changing the sion. When cells divide under normal conditions, the break is clean, with no extraneous viscosity of the solution. As the viscous damping on the diaphragm vibration Y. LAWRENCE YAO cellular material. After radiation exposure, however, pieces of damaged chromosomes, directly depends on the viscosity, the glucose concentration can be determined MECHANICAL ENGINEERING micronuclei, appear along with divided cells and can be tested for DNA breaks. by wireless vibration measurements. Depending on the result, insulin can be injected to maintain a normal glucose level. The advances in these technologies being pioneered by Yao and his colleagues will accelerate the screening process based on blood from a fi nger stick. With the help of The reversible binding of glucose to the polymer is key. a highly automated, effi cient, and eventually portable device—a prototype of which is already whirring in Mudd’s basement—doctors can quickly determine the scope “It is a physical process and so the glucose is not consumed,” says Lin. This is a of radiation exposure and whether medical treatment is needed by processing tens of key difference between his device and current, less reliable, sensors that use an thousands of samples per day, instead of only a few hundred. irreversible electrochemical reaction of glucose with an enzyme. cell harvest module, a key Yao and his colleagues, and the NIH, are confi dent that this device can operate at high Lin, who earned his PhD from the California Institute of Technology, was a component of the biodosim- volume and full throttle, with the hope that it is never needed. etry system postdoctoral scholar in Caltech’s Electrical Engineering Department and an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University Yao, who received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, engages in prior to joining the SEAS faculty. multidisciplinary research that includes nontraditional manufacturing, laser materials processing, and robotics in industry and health care.

26 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 27 MAKING AN IMPACT

Even in the steadiest of surgeons’ hands, placing cochlear implants in patients can be tricky self-assembled gears with and the risks of trauma are high. Help is on the way for surgeons to implant such electronic two-dimensional and three- devices, which provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard dimensional pattern features using robots of hearing due to damaged neuroepithelial (hair) cells. Assistant Professor Nabil Simaan and his team have developed a steerable, snake-like electrode array for implant surgery that helps surgeons install cochlear implants safely and trauma free. Otolaryngologists at the Columbia University Medical Center have taken an active interest in for surgical his lab’s development of a robot-assisted system for such surgeries.

Simaan says it will be a big step forward from the existing implantation procedure, in which implants surgeons must manually thread long, fl imsy electrodes into the cochlea, carefully navigating its delicate passageways with extreme precision. The slightest wrong move or force can damage the delicate structures of the cochlea and may even cause additional hearing loss beyond what the surgery is trying to correct. NABIL SIMAAN growing gears for MECHANICAL He is also developing other surgical robots, including one that will both fi lter a surgeon’s hand ENGINEERING tremor as well as keep the surgeon from moving the surgical tool into the wrong area. This will be especially useful for minimally invasive surgery performed through the abdomen.

surgical robots “Designing new mechanical architectures for robots geared for surgery is my passion,” Simaan says, “and my hope is that Columbia’s novel work in robotics fi nds its way into operating rooms everywhere.” XI CHEN insertion of a mock-up steer- EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING able electrode array inside a 3D Simaan received his PhD from the Israel Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral re- model of the cochlea search scientist at Johns Hopkins University’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineer- ing Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology prior to Not everyone who looks at red bell peppers immediately sees the solution to the coming to SEAS. He recently received an NSF CAREER Award to support his research. manufacture of biocompatible, microrobotic gears, but SEAS associate professor Xi Chen did. Chen, who fi rst explained why some fruits and vegetables have ridges, has applied these same buckling principles of engineering mechanics to the cre- ation of small gears that can be used in surgical robots.

Today, creating gears requires a complicated and time-consuming lithography pro- cess, and the resulting pattern features are essentially two-dimensional. “Our break- through involves self-assembly created by mismatched deformation,” says Chen. “If we bond a thin fi lm to a compliant cylinder substrate, upon relative shrinking of the substrate, the only way the system can handle the extra fi lm surface is to buckle the fi lm and form structures like teeth on a gear.”

This methodology can create three-dimensional biocompatible structures that are impossible to make with current lithography techniques. Chen and his team have shown they can predict the number and depth of the teeth, as well as create inclined and zigzag gears.

“Our goal is to fi nd ways to manipulate patterns by playing with different geometrical and material parameters to force the substrate to make the pattern we want,” he says. “Our approach is quick, simple, and the cost is very low. We are now working to re- duce the size of these gears to micrometer scale for use in surgical robots.”

Chen, who received his PhD and postdoctoral training at Harvard, received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) last year for his outstanding research in mismatch damages in thin-fi lm and nanoscale self-assembly.

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analyzing 3D video ultrasounds of the heart fi guring ANDREW F. LAINE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING out how > viruses relief for aching joints invade cells CLARK T. HUNG BEN O’SHAUGHNESSY BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING > >

predicting bone strength, preventing personal osteoporosis diseases, X. EDWARD GUO untangling the BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING personal mystery of Alzheimer’s > delivering drugs to cures plaque the right place DANA PE’ER SANAT KUMAR JEFFREY T. KOBERSTEIN COMPUTER SCIENCE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

> CHEMICAL ENGINEERING > >

trying to developing an grow strong artifi cial kidney cartilage EDWARD F. LEONARD GERARD A. ATESHIAN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING > >

30 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 31 MAKING AN IMPACT

biology on a chip: big changes writ small KEN SHEPARD ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING >

cartilage destruction and reconstruction VAN C. MOW BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING >

engineering the > reprogramming cells to body’s defenses boost immunity LANCE KAM measuring JAMES HONE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING how heart > creating personalized cells work DNA chips for HAYDEN HUANG building tiny muscle- everyone BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING like engines JINGYUE JU > > HENRY HESS CHEMICAL ENGINEERING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING >

treating non-Hodgkins to read more about these

lymphoma and other faculty members TRUMAN R. BROWN > and their exciting work, go to: BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING engineering. how fl ies’ brains identify odors columbia.edu AUREL A. LAZAR > ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

32 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 33 164 1864SEAS BY THE NUMBERS200991414%164164154825

SEAS Undergraduate Applications Selectivity Rate for First-Year Classes Number of Applications for Graduate Programs PhD Acceptance Rate

50% 5,000 50% 



28% 4,154 4,223 4,000  40% 


20% 
19% 3,000 3,113 18% 30% 27% 27% 


2,439 2,332 2,187  2,000 20% 


1,673 1,351 14% 
1,000 10% 




0 0% 1995 2000 2005 2009 1995 2000 2005 2009

1996 2000 2005 2008 1996 2000 2005 2008

Mean GRE Quantitative Scores of Average SAT Scores for SEAS Admitted New Entrants in Doctoral Program Number of PhD and Master’s Students Classes



777 777 1,000 780 773 1487 1864 770 766 825 

1480 800 1445 to read more about 760 759 647 608 582 

1373 Columbia Engineering, go to 750 600 499 740 423 

400 1487 730 327 engineering. 275 720 

200 710
columbia.edu 0 700 2000 2005 2008 1995 2000 2005 2009 2009 1996 2000 2005 2008 1996 Phd MS

34 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 35 164 1864SEAS BY THE NUMBERS2009 MS Students Gain Global Advantage Columbia Engineering has taken a historic step in its globalization initiatives by signing a dual certifi- cation agreement with the University of Bologna SEAS Faculty Growth 1995–2009 Doctorate-Granting Institutions of Current Faculty that provides an opportunity for students from both universities to obtain a master’s degree in civil en- gineering from each institution with only one addi- 

tional year of study. Academicians and cultural rep- MIT 20% resentatives from Italy joined with their Columbia 164 Columbia 8% counterparts to celebrate the new program that, be- 150 UPenn 8% ginning in the fall of 2010, will train SEAS students 
to work anywhere in Europe. UC Berkeley 8% 115 Stanford 7% Shown here during ceremonies at Low Library are Princeton 5% (front row, left) Pier Paulo Diotallevi, dean of the 

96 University of Bologna’s faculty of engineering, and Harvard 4% Columbia University's Feniosky Peña-Mora, dean Cornell 3% of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Carnegie Mellon 2% Applied Science. Back row, from left: University of 
Bologna Professor Francesco Ubertini; SEAS Civil International Universities 12% Engineering Professor Raimondo Betti; Professor Other Top U.S. Universities 23% Marco Savoia, chair of the Department of Civil En- gineering at the University of Bologna; Columbia
University Vice Provost Roxie Smith; Régine Lam- 1995 2000 2005 2009 0 5 10 15 20 25 brech, director of global initiatives and education at SEAS; and the Hon. Francesco M. Talò, consul general of Italy. —Photo by Eileen Barroso

PhD Students per Faculty Number of Faculty in NAE SEAS Parents Council Research Expenditures he SEAS Parents Council parents of Andrew ’09. They are joined by 23 couples from all 15 continues to build mo- over the U.S. as well as Hong Kong, South Korea, Switzerland, 

 5 15 $92,937,000 Tmentum as it enters its sec- Finland, and Taiwan. ond year. The Parents Council is 4.07 4.18
 $74,990,000 4 12 the principal connection between Bill Haney, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 10 the dean and the parent body as a operations research from SEAS, said, “I could not have attended whole, advising the dean on ways Columbia without the financial aid I received while an 
 3 2.82 9 8 to strengthen the student experi- undergraduate student. I believe that the investment that 2.3 7 ence and acting as liaisons with Columbia makes in enabling the very best students to matricu- $39,581,000 
 2 6 other parents. Members also serve late benefits everyone associated with the Columbia community. $29,240,000 as informed ambassadors for SEAS Current students are direct beneficiaries of an enhanced in their community and country. A academic experience, and alumni and current and future students 
 1 3 key focus of the Council is advancing the goals and vision of are beneficiaries of an enhanced overall reputation for academic the School through supporting the Parents Fund. Last year, the excellence at Columbia. Mary and I are thrilled to be leading
0 0 Parents Fund raised $348,582 from 320 families, both of the Parents Council this year and continuing its efforts to assist 1996 2000 2005 2008 1996 2000 2005 2008 1996 2000 2005 2009 which were new records. SEAS and its students in achieving their fullest aspirations.”

This year, the Parents Council will be led by Chairs William For more information about the Parents Council or the ’81, ’86 and Mary Haney (above) parents of Nora ’12. The Parents Program, contact Ryan Carmichael, Parents Program Parents of Alumni chairs will be Mark and Angela Arnold, Officer, at [email protected] or 212-851-7891.

36 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 37 2003 Congratulations to Angela Segars Francisco Bay Area, graduated from profit for the South Asian Performing Class Correspondent: Anderegg, who writes to tell us that UC Berkeley with an MS in structur- Arts. Both are doing very well, and, as Amar Doshi at she married Matthew Anderegg, al engineering and is currently work- part of Navatman’s launch, Sahasra has [email protected] also a SEAS class of ’04 graduate, on ing on construction of the new San spent six months on tour internation- IN MEMORIAM October 11, 2008. Angela continues: Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. ally performing the production she 2004 “We live in Birmingham, Ala., where After a stint in Portland, OR as a ge- co-created during senior year, Her I am an environmental engineer at otechnical engineer and a second job Story. It has been receiving rave re- Class Correspondent: Alabama Power Company and Matt is as an environmental engineer in Los views at each city where it’s been fea- which he received his second patent, He received his Golden Lions Soci- Eric Rhee at 1937 1949 a software engineer at Computer Angeles, Nat Gale has settled in Ko- tured. She’s still in the NYC area, “Process for preparing polyethylene ety pin at his 70th year Engineering [email protected] Jerome S. (Jerry) Schaul, Jr. Dr. Charles Edward (Charlie) Technology Solutions. I’m including a reatown (LA) and is now attending studying at Gallatin School at NYU terephthalate useful for beverage con- reunion in 2007. He is survived by The theme of this edition’s update is ’35CC, an enthusiastic supporter of Aull died on July 4, 2009. After brief photo from the wedding.” the University of Southern California for her MA. tainers.” He also contributed innova- Ruth, his wife of 69 years (now living “Bye Bye New York and Hello SEAS and Reunions, died on Nov. service with the U.S. Navy at the to earn a master’s degree in urban Ben Stern is currently studying at tions to milk bottle blow molding. in Raleigh, N.C.), his sister Betty Lef- Marriage.” The Class of 2004 has had 30, 2008. He was a retired plastics en- close of World War II, he went on to 2005 planning and master’s degree in public Yale Law School. This summer he Schaul retired in 1980 from the ferts of New York City, and sons Dan quite an eventful 2009, especially as gineer and prominent amateur cellist earn a BS degree in chemical engi- administration. With his engineering worked for a boutique intellectual Celanese Corporation. of Long Beach, N.Y., and Michael ALUMNI NOTES we celebrated our five-year reunion 5TH REUNION who began his career with General neering at Columbia, a master’s de- degree in tow, he plans on applying property firm in Israel and plans to For more than 20 years, Jerry was and his wife Miriam, of Raleigh, and this past June. Many faces looked dif- Spencer Greenberg cofounded a Cigar in Hartford. He then moved to gree at the University of Oregon and all he learned from the Big Apple, the practice patent law. an instructor in what he referred to their son Nissim, of Paris. ferent, but shared the same great sto- quant fund (Rebellion Research) in a WWII defense plant in DesMoines. a PhD at the University of Colorado Rose City, the Southland, and Hart- Kristin Swartzlander has been as “pragmatically oriented plastics ries and memories from our college 2005, which applies probabilistic The family moved to suburban in mathematics. ford, Ct., in his adult life. working with various sports organiza- courses” for the Center for Profes- 1948 years. learning algorithms to automatically Boston in 1944 and then to Essex After teaching assignments in several Morgan Rhodes and Mike Haskel tions doing public relations for their sional Advancement, teaching in New Leon Seldin (MS) died on Aug. 8, Jiwon Chung currently resides in invest in the stock market for clients. County, N.J., in 1946, where he and schools, including the University of are living in Baltimore, Md., and are on- and off-the-field interests. She has Jersey and Amsterdam. He was a vol- 2009, at The Chilton Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. working as an actuary Meanwhile, he is starting the fourth Ruth lived the rest of his life. His last Wisconsin and Kent State University, now engaged. The wedding will be spent a year with the San Francisco unteer executive for the International Pompton Plains, N.J. Seldin lived in for Prudential. Chaue Shen, after liv- year of his PhD in mathematics at home was Winchester Gardens in Aull came to the Mathematics De- in Summer 2010. Morgan works for 49ers and is now working with the Executive Service Corps in Jamaica River Edge for 58 years before mov- ing in New York since graduation, re- NYU’s Courant Institute. More im- Maplewood, NJ. partment at Virginia Tech in 1965. He Lockheed Martin and Mike works for newly-formed Pittsburgh Phantoms and Costa Rica and was listed in the ing to Cedar Crest Village in 2006. A located to Taipei, Taiwan, where he is portantly though, he is “on a quest to taught Mathematics at Virginia Tech Booz Allen Hamilton. professional basketball team. She con- first edition of Who’s Who in Plastics & graduate of De Witt Clinton High working in the Embedded Systems systematically eliminate the irrational- until his retirement in 1992. Marios Hatzikyriakou is living in tinues to be involved with motor- Polymers, published by the Society of School, he received his BS degree Integration department at Promate ities in his thinking, and find happi- Aull published more than 50 papers Fort Lee, N.J., and working for Lum- sports, traveling all over the country Plastics Engineers. He was recognized from CCNY in 1943, and went on Inc. ness that is both extreme and sustain- in his field of Topology and edited mus Technology, a process technology with race teams, and her own motor- for 70 years of membership in the to earn his master’s degree in electri- Justin Saechee has also left NYC, able.” two larger works. But most people licensors in the hydrocarbon industry. sports company, Precise Racing Prod- American Chemical Society. cal engineering from Columbia Uni- moving out to Long Island, where he knew him through his activities with He’s working as a process engineer on ucts, just hit its five-year mark! Schaul was first chair cellist in the versity. As a student at City College, is a project estimator for A.L.A.C. 2006 the NAACP and Virginians Against conceptual studies to full basic engi- Daniel Wong and Pam Bays are Montclair State University Orchestra he was awarded membership in Eta Contracting Corp. Orahn Preiss- Class Correspondent: the Death Penalty, through his regular neering packages for hydroprocessing living in the Washington, D.C., area and the Livingston Symphony. He Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, as well as Bloom is in Caesarea, Israel working Nick Jennings at commitment to visiting those in technologies essential for the produc- and are enjoying the change of city performed frequently with the Socie- Sigma Kappa Tau. as an executive for LifeBond Ltd, a [email protected] prison at Fairlawn and at the Juvenile tion of high quality transportation atmosphere. Daniel is currently doing ty of Musical Arts and the Montclair Seldin pioneered in the early days company he co-founded. Al Lahiri is Detention Home in Christiansburg, fuels (LPG, naphtha, kerosene, and virology research at the Children's Music Club, as well as at Winchester of television with Dumont TV. He currently in Calcutta, India, where he 2008 and through his love for and commit- diesel) and lubes from increasingly National Hospital. Pam is approving Gardens. He also played with the continued on with a number of engi- started an engineering workshare Class Correspondent: ment to St. Mary’s Catholic Church difficult oil feeds. Lastly, Marios is also patents at the United States Patent New Jersey Symphony and the Irv- neering firms, and eventually became services business called Trishul. Amy Lin at [email protected] in Blacksburg and the Newman a pilot plant engineer on catalyst de- and Trademark Office. ington Symphony. One of his favorite a well-known and respected consult- The wedding bells will soon be ring- I’m looking forward to my move to He received his BA in 1935, and BS Community, the Catholic Campus velopment and performance for It’s been just over a year since Wei pieces was Ravel’s Kaddish, which he ant in the industry and a member of ing for Shirley Cho who recently Jersey City, N.J., where I’ve recently in ChE in 1937 from Columbia, and Ministry at Virginia Tech. olefins conversion technology intend- Alexander Xin first left the bronzy, performed most effectively for at least the New Jersey Society of Electrical became engaged to her long-time purchased a condo unit. I currently his MS in chemical engineering in Frederick J. Michel (MS), 87, ed to optimize feedstock and product owlish embrace of Alma Mater. Since a dozen Holocaust and Kristallnacht Engineers. He also was an adjunct boyfriend Ryan. work at TD Ameritrade as a strategy 1968 from the Stevens Institute of passed away on May 30, 2009. Born flexibility among ethylene, propylene then, his tales of errantry include los- commemorations in Passaic and professor of electrical engineering for Winston Chao has already started analyst and look forward to recon- Te c h n o l o g y. in Landau, Germany, to Richard and and butylenes depending on current ing a Connecticut job offer, living the Montclair. His early musical training 40 years at CCNY and Fairleigh planning his wedding, in 2010, to necting with alumni. Here’s some Following World War II, he became Lilly Brunner Michel, he immigrated market demand and pricing. true college life, and even considering benefited from absolute pitch and a Dickinson University in Teaneck. Linda Ng (CC04). news from our classmates. involved with plastics and produced to the United States with his parents Heather Lockhart is doing con- love. Now working at Comodo as a piano teacher whose teacher’s Always active in the River Edge Last but not least, James Lee finally Kim Atiyeh spent her last summer the first experimental length of poly- and brother, Rudolph, in 1936 due to struction management for the Na- business analyst, he plans to further teacher’s teacher was Ludwig von community, he was a past-president gathered enough courage to propose traveling to Asia and has finished her ethylene-covered telephone cable for the Holocaust. tional September 11 Memorial and his goals by augmenting his education Beethoven. of the Lions Club of River Edge, a to his college sweetheart, Susie Kim. first year of Western Electric, which eventually After graduating from Brooklyn At 13, he attended a New York medical Museum at the World Trade Center or advancing his career, whichever terminated him for attempting to or- founding member of The River Edge Technical High School and City Col- Philharmonic Young People’s concert school at project and is beginning her first se- proves more alluring. ganize engineers. Swim Club in 1960, a Boy Scout lege of New York with a bachelor’s in Carnegie Hall with Walter Dam- NYU. mester at NYU School of Law. Don’t forget to send me your news He subsequently developed and troop leader, and a coach and manag- degree in mechanical engineering, he rosch as conductor. “I sat in the bal- Charles Ek- Shu Pan is currently residing in by Jan. 15, 2010! manufactured early examples of glass- er in the River Edge Little League entered the Army during World War cony with my mother,” he said, re- stein has fin- Centereach, NY, and is just starting reinforced products and, later, fluoro- for a number of years. II and was assigned to Military Intel- membering how clearly every instru- ished his first her first year of medical school at carbon extrusions before concentrat- He enjoyed golf and tennis and had ligence at Fort Hunt, Va. After the ment could be heard in the acousti- year of med- SUNY Stonybrook. ing on another new product, PVC a special gift for helping others with war, he earned a master’s degree in cally superb hall. “When the orchestra ical school at Ashley Regazzi still lives in the pipe. Although he was the only tech- his electrical and jewelry-making mechanical engineering at Columbia. played the second movement of Boston University and is pretty set on NYC area and currently manages ex- nical person at Alpha Plastics, he took skills. Additionally, he was an active Michel worked at Melpar Inc. in Brahms’ Second Symphony, the cello pursuing orthopedic surgery (power perimental drug trials at Memorial an active role in convincing public volunteer of Chore of Bergen Coun- Alexandria and Arlington, Va., and section solo sounded so rich, bursting tools and bones). Last summer, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She authorities of the viability and safety ty, an organization of seniors spon- later for Westinghouse Electric Co. as in tone, I decided I had found my in- Charles spent two amazing weeks in gave successful presentations at the of PVC pipe. He then returned to sored by Hackensack Hospital which director at the research laboratory in strument.” He made his own Morocco with his girlfriend, Nikki American Society of Clinical Oncol- the lab as the plastic pipe expert in a helps seniors with household repairs. Churchill, Pa. He returned to North- Carnegie Hall debut with one of his Goldstein ’08CC. It was one of the ogy's annual meeting and has had her group of concrete-oriented civil en- He was the loving husband of Betty ern Virginia to work for the U.S. many amateur groups in 1995. best trips he's ever taken and he high- urothelial carcinoma research pub- gineers at Lock Joint Pipe Company, (Kownatzky) for 65 years, and devot- Army, retiring as deputy chief of Schaul attended his 70th year Co- ly recommends it to anyone who re- lished in the Journal of Clinical On- later Interpace. He wrote a chapter ed father of Eric of Morris Plains and manufacturing. Among the many lumbia College reunion, together ally enjoys a trip that's all about cul- cology, the most prestigious oncology for Plastics in Building, edited by Peter of New Canaan, Conn. He also awards he received are two medals journal. with his son Michael ’65CC, and leaves Eric’s daughter, Alexandra, and One final note. Columbia Engineer- ture, food, and going outside your Irving Skeist, 1966. from the Army for Meritorious Sahasra Sambamoorthi started two grandson Nissim ’00CC. His father Peter’s wife, Carol, and their two sons, ing Young Alumni is a new organiza- comfort zone. Included is a picture of Schaul joined Celanese in 1966. He Civilian Service and a Gold Medal small businesses, Parampara, a web Jerome S. Schaul, Sr., was a member Matthew and Douglas, all of whom tion that I encourage all of you to get Charles in the Djemma-el-Fna (the was involved with several projects and and recognition as a Fellow of the magazine for the South Asian per- of the Columbia College class of he enjoyed and loved so much. to know and participate! Take care main square) in Marrakesh. was a pioneer in creating PET bottles Society of Manufacturing Engineers. forming arts, and Navatman, a non- 1909. Class of 2004! Paul Fikse moved back to the San (Pepsi, Palmolive dish liquid) for He co-authored two textbooks on

50 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 51 manufacturing engineering. Michel’s in New Jersey. He soon met and mar- taught 55 Alive driving courses, and (ASTP) a program designed to put as its own: a loving, caring man who Mich. His large collection of books captain of the swim team. He served projects with Belfast United favorite hobby was working in his ried Mildred, and they had two chil- was an AARP Area Coordinator, in language-trained American troops be- brought his best to his profession, his reflect his interest in Spanish and in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1951 to Methodist Church, board member of azalea gardens. He is survived by his dren, Nancy and George Jr. He Myrtle Beach, S.C. On Aug. 16, 2009, hind enemy lines. For John, it meant family, and his friends.” American history and politics, mod- 1953 and received an MS from Co- Camden Conference and Penobscot wife of 62 years, Lucille Berryman worked with Rocketdyne on the Jean and James would have celebrated studying Chinese at the University of ern art, dance and literature. His his- lumbia University in 1959. He retired Marine Museum, supporting roles in Michel, formerly of Alexandria, Va.; West Coast for many years. their 57th year of marriage. California Berkeley where he earned 1953 torical monograph ‘‘Cuatro Vientos’’ as a Vice President of Scott and the Belfast Game Loft, teaching and two daughters, Deanna Michel Oren- When Wunderlin left Rocketdyne, a Certificate of Excellence in Chinese Fernando Saenz Leon was born in on his father’s service as an air base Stringfellow in 1992. attending Senior College at the dorf and Cynthia Michel; and son-in- he started a new career with the City 1954 studies. Larache, Morocco, then a Spanish ter- commander in the early days of the Jim’s first concern was always for his Hutchinson Center, and substitute law, Robert I. Orendorf, all of of Simi Valley in administration in the Robert J. Breza of Conyers, died “He came to Columbia on the GI ritory. A beloved husband, father, Spanish Civil War is in the collections family and those in the community teaching in the Belfast school system. Louisville, Ky.; three grandchildren; early 1970’s. At the time, Simi Valley Mar. 23, 2009. Born in New Bill, spent a year fulfilling pre-engi- grandfather, sailor, orator in five lan- of seven rare book libraries, including who needed support. He served on Friends and neighbors could always and four great-granddaughters. was becoming a city. He finished his Brunswick, N.J., he attended Rahway neering studies, studying while work- guages, mesmeric singer of Spanish the Houghton Library at Harvard and the boards of many community or- count on him to lend a helping hand. career as Finance Director with the High, in Rahway, N.J. Upon gradua- ing part-time as a ribbon salesmen, folk and Civil War songs, amateur his- the Geisel Library at UCSD. ganizations including WorkSource He was predeceased by his first wife, 1950 city of Rancho Palos Verdes. After re- tion, he attended Columbia where he and finally in 1954 graduating with a torian, art collector, trout fisherman, He married Eleanor Robson Smith Enterprises where he served for over Regina (Conklin) Plummer, the Lambert Prettyman Jr., 82, of tirement, Wunderlin remained very received a BA in chemistry and a BS BS in mechanical engineering. duck hunter, lover of music, literature and they just marked their 63rd wed- 20 years. He was a founding member mother of his three children; and one Sarasota, died May 20, 2009. Born in active in many areas including serving in engineering. He worked for Gen- “That same year, the year of Colum- and the forest and crafty chess player, ding anniversary. He is survived by of NAMI Blue Ridge where he was brother, Gerald L. Plummer. Surviv- IN MEMORIAM New York City to Lambert and Ruth on the board and as President of the eral Foods for 33 years in various lo- bia’s Bicentennial, he became presi- he died peacefully amid his family in two brothers, his wife, six children Treasurer for 30 years. Jim also served ing are his wife, Barbara Plummer of Prettyman, he attended Horace Mann Retired Public Employee Association cations, including Dover, Del., and dent of the Columbia student body. his Ann Arbor home on June 8. and fifteen grandchildren. on the vestry of St. Paul’s Memorial Northport; his three children, David School in Riverdale and served in the of California. He was predeceased by Hoboken, N.J. He began playing the Presiding over Bicentennial activities Leon attended the Instituto Escuela Church and on the Charlottesville Plummer of Berryville, Va., Sandy U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946. After his wife Mildred in 1996. He is sur- violin at the age of three, and was an included the honor of hosting in Madrid and was a veteran, fighting 1956 Albemarle Airport Commission. He Stroud of Honolulu and Rebecca he received a BS in industrial engi- vived by his daughter Nancy and her accomplished violinist, playing in var- Eleanor Roosevelt in her visit and ad- with the Republican forces during Victor V. Mion Jr. (’56CC) of also enjoyed anything involving Plummer of New York City; his neering from Columbia Engineering husband Jim Martz of Simi Valley, his ious community orchestras, including dress to the student body. He consid- the Spanish Civil War. After escaping Saratoga Springs, N.Y., died on Mar. planes and boats. stepchildren, Juanita Rogers of in 1950, he joined the General Foods son George Wunderlin Jr. of Min- the Summit Symphony, Hilton Head ered it one of the great moments in to France and then from the intern- 7, 2009, from complication of ALS He is survived by Shelah, his wife of Alexandria, Va., and Kevin Fletcher of Corporation at its Maxwell House neapolis and brother Charles of Ohio, Orchestra, and the Conyers-Coving- his life. ment camp in Argels-sur-Mer, he im- (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Born in Sch- 56 years; his daughter Lee; his sons Jacksonville, Fla.; five grandchildren; Division coffee plant in Hoboken, 5 grandchildren and 7 great grand- ton Orchestra. Breza enjoyed re- “He went to work for Norden- migrated to New York. Soon after enectady, he was a graduate of Mont Keith and Jay; daughter-in-law Sarah two sisters, Sandra Plummer Hooper N.J. During his career with General children. The family would like to ex- searching family genealogy, cooking, Ketay on the Norden bomb-sight, arriving, he received a scholarship to Pleasant High School and Columbia Bedford; and grandchildren Ford, of Kittery Point and Shirley Johnson Foods, Prettyman worked in San Le- tend a special thank you to Simi Val- traveling, collecting stamps and visit- then to Mergenthaler Linotype, attend Black Mountain College in Engineering in 1956. He was presi- Alden, and Elisabeth. He is also sur- of Stafford, Va.; many nieces and andro, Calif., Hoboken, N.J., and ley Residential Care. ing relatives. He is survived by his working on this famous typesetting North Carolina and transferred to dent and owner of Anthony Mion & vived by his sisters, Alice Nalle of nephews. White Plains, N.Y. wife, Betty Jean Breza; daughters and machine that revolutionized newspa- Columbia Engineering, where he was Son in Schenectady for the past 50 Philadelphia and Polly Cardozo and In 1971, he was vice president of 1951 sons-in-law, Marika and Randy Ka- per production where his design im- elected a member of Tau Beta Pi. He years. her husband, Randolph of Rich- 1965 operations at Kohner Toys. He com- Leslie R. Abbott Jr., 83, of The Pier nipe of Covington, Barbara and Brian provements brought him several earned a master’s degree in automo- Mion was a member and instructor mond; and his brother Walter, also of Ronald James Griffith (MS ’65, pleted his career as plant manager of condominium in Norfolk, Va., died Coyne of Larchmont, N.Y.; grand- patents. John then moved on to PRD tive engineering from the Chrysler with Lake George Power Squadron; Richmond; as well as 15 nieces and PhD ’69) died on Mar. 12, 2009, the Maxwell House facility in San June 17 in Norfolk. He was born and children, James R. Kanipe, Rebekah Electronics where he was engaged in Institute and worked at Chrysler in past president of Local Sigma Chi nephews and a large extended family. from pancreatic cancer. His brilliant Leandro and retired in 1985. He is reared on South Street in A. Kanipe, and Elizabeth R. Coyne. the design and manufacture of mi- the late stages of the development of Chapter; past president of Niskayuna and inquiring intellect, commitment survived by Kathleen, his wife of 57 Portsmouth. He was a graduate of John I. Glucksman, a former presi- crowave antennas, as well as oversee- the XIV-2220 experimental high- Kiwanis; co-president of Niskayuna 1963 to family and community, outstanding years; a daughter, Linda, her husband, Columbia with a BS and was a U.S. dent of the Columbia Engineering ing the production of prototype and speed aircraft engine to which High School PTA; assistant Boy Galen Robert Plummer ’62CC professional leadership, and generous Chester Fream, and their children Army veteran of World War II. He Alumni Association, died Oct. 28, final products. Chrysler was contracted by the U.S. Scout Leader Troop 31; past president died on Mar. 24, 2009, in his home. heart will be missed by the many Courtney, Scott, Jessica and Sean; a fought in Eastern France and Ger- 2008. His wife, Paula Greene, writes: “His work and life took another Army Air Corps during the war. Eastern New York Contractors Asso- He graduated from Robert W. Traip people he touched in Northfield and son, Robert, his wife, Pamela, and many and was a Purple Heart recipi- “John didn’t get to Engineering turn: he joined his wife, Paula Green, This was the first engine using ciation; past board member Lake Academy, Kittery Point, in 1958. He around the world. their children Ryan, Meghan and ent. Abbott retired from the Norfolk School at Columbia on some pre-or- in establishing and running an adver- Chrysler’s ‘‘hemi’’ technology. When George Opera; volunteer with SICM earned a bachelor of arts degree from Born in Harlan, Iowa, he grew up Kelly; a son, Kevin, his wife, Julie, and Naval Shipyard in 1975 as a metallur- dained path. There were a lot of zigs tising agency in New York, where his the contract finished, Fernando for abused children; past board mem- Columbia in 1962 and, in 1963, a in Cherokee, Iowa, recalling his idyl- their children Jackson and Samuel; gical engineer. He was preceded in and zags along the way. It was a path engineering background contributed served in the U.S. Navy in Baltimore, ber for Habitat for Humanity; trustee bachelor of science degree in me- lic childhood with devoted parents, and a great-grandson, Grant, son of death by his loving wife of 42 years, of constant exploration and experi- to the agency’s growth and success, Md., until the end of WWII. He co- of Local 2 and an active member of chanical engineering. who encouraged his stimulation to Courtney and husband Neil Carig- Nan Sykes Abbott, and later by his ence and what made him a thinking, figuring importantly in the agency’s founded the FOREL Equipment Co. Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sch- After college, he received a com- learn and support for his interests. He nan. The family gives special thanks to beloved companion, Betty A. Davis, humane practitioner of the art and campaign that introduced the Subaru in New York City with two brothers enectady. He is survived by his loving mission in the U.S. Navy and was ac- was engaged in Cub Scouts, 4-H, the 1986 anonymous donor of his who died in 2004. science of engineering, even when he to the U.S. and a friend. The firm exported steel- wife of 52 years, Patricia Sweeney cepted for duty in the Navy’s nuclear Methodist Youth Fellowship, varsity life-giving kidney. A private family wasn’t practicing engineering. “John did more than attend school making and metalworking equipment Mion; three sons, six grandchildren a propulsion program and submarines. athletics and numerous school-related memorial service was held in Or- 1952 “John was a New Yorker through at Columbia. As an alumnus John sat and helped set up many industrial sister and nephew. He served in seven submarines, cul- clubs and activities. Griffith worked fordville, N.H., where he enjoyed the James Abner Bloom Sr. (MS) died and through. He was born in Man- on the Board of Managers of the En- plants in Latin America and Europe minating with commands of the nu- continually from age 14 doing either summers of his youth at Camp on Apr. 21, 2009. Bloom grew up a hattan, grew up on the Upper West gineering Alumni Association for sev- for the Marshall Plan after WWII. 1958 clear attack USS Archerfish, SSN 678, store or farm work until he complet- Moosilauke. small town boy, delivering papers, Side, went to PS 165, and spent his eral terms, and in 1986 was elected He later founded Om-El Corpora- Arthur “Art” Fein (MS), a native of and nuclear attack Submarine ed high school. Before graduating Nicholas Rahal died in February working odd jobs, and becoming an high school years at Stuyvesant High president. John’s story is a Columbia tion in Bay City, MI, to pursue simi- New York, longtime resident of Palos Squadron Seven in Hawaii; program from high school in 1960, Griffith while on a cruise. He was buried at Eagle Scout. Upon turning 18, he was School, where he not only was ex- family story; he saw his son, Joel, a lar activities, enabling him to travel Verdes, Calif., and resident of manager of nuclear propulsion pro- married Linda Joy Sagness in 1959, Arlington National Cemetery with drafted into the Army at the close of pected to excel in academics, but also member of the championship Co- Europe, Latin America and behind Fairhope, Ala. for the past two years gram and submarine detailer; and welcoming their children Dana and full military honors in May. His wife World War II, prior to VJ Day. He to learn and respect shop skills and lumbia fencing team, graduate from the Iron Curtain extensively. Addi- since his retirement, died June 13, chief of Strategic Command and Brian in 1960 and 1961. wrote to his classmates, “He always served in the supply area in Occupied the people who made their livings Columbia in 1970. Joel then spent tional entrepreneurial ventures in Bay 2009, in a local hospital. Fein received Control Division for the Chairman In 1960, Griffith entered Iowa State had such fond memories of his days Germany as well as being in the using them. John was on a scientific several years as assistant fencing coach City included the co-founding of his BS in engineering from New of The Joint Chiefs of Staff. University with the dream of design- at Columbia and I am so glad we Corps of Engineers. Upon discharge, path, leading him to NYU where he at Columbia, received his master’s de- AcraCast and Lake Huron Sailboats. York University in 1956 and his mas- He retired from the Navy in 1992 ing nuclear reactors. His vocational were able to meet with you and all Jim entered West Virginia University earned his first BS, in geology. gree from Teachers’ College, and was Mr. Leon was selected by the U.S. ter’s degree in 1958 from Columbia. as a captain after 36 years of service. objective evolved into biomedical en- his classmates at the two reunions. and graduated as a mining engineer “It was in the days just before WWII a member of the U.S. Olympics Department of Commerce to serve He retired from Northrop Grumman In May, 1994, he married Barbara gineering when he had the opportu- He even wrote about his days at Co- in 1951. He continued his education and John found his first real job, one Fencing team at Los Angeles. in the U.S. Trade and Investment with over 40 years of service. (English) Murray in Alexandria, Va. nity to produce a prototype medical lumbia in a book he was writing.” by obtaining a master’s in mining en- that made practical use of his training, “The constant in John’s life, the Mission to Columbia in 1965. He They moved with his daughter, Re- device for which he was awarded a George Wunderlin (MS), 92, of gineering from Columbia University in Mississippi, teaching aviation me- thread that ran through it all, was served as a trustee for Marlboro Col- 1959 becca, to Northport. Moving into his patent. His time at ISU included pro- Simi Valley, passed away peacefully in 1952. Bloom’s career included chanics at Keesler Field. A year later, learning. John possessed the incredible lege in Vermont. James Hamilton Scott Jr. (MS), dream home overlooking Penobscot gramming the Cyclone digital com- Friday Apr. 17, 2009. He was born in working for Union Carbide, Mon- as a GI himself in the Army Air ability to impart knowledge to others. Reflecting a lifelong interest in died at home on Apr. 26, 2009. Born Bay brought him full circle to the puter, a copy of the first digital com- Bayonne, N.J., graduated from Brook- terey Coal Company, and Y & O Force, he was returned to Biloxi once He was a first-class explainer, a born global issues, Fernando was energeti- in Richmond, Va., Scott attended St. time he first saw the water as a child puter — the Illiac — that introduced lyn Polytechnic with a BS degree in Coal Company. He spent most of his again teaching aviation mechanics. teacher, and a very funny man. John cally involved in the presidential cam- Christopher’s School, and graduated in Searsport. Capt. Plummer began Griffith’s generation to computing. aeronautical engineering, and an MS time with his best friend, his wife But there was an unexpected turn to was warm, witty and wise, unfettered paigns of Stevenson, McCarthy and from Woodberry Forest School in his second career after retirement He graduated in 1963 with a BS in from Columbia. He started his career Jean. He enjoyed traveling, square his Army career; he qualified for the in mind and spirit. He was what McGovern. He established the first 1947. He went on to the University through church and community serv- electrical engineering, an interest in in aerospace with Wright Aeronautics dancing, and round dancing. He Army Specialist Training Corp every school would be proud to claim teen crisis drop-in center in Bay City, of Virginia in 1951 where he was ice, specifically with various outreach all aspects of physics, mathematics and

52 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 | 53 science and membership in numerous launching Just Food Northfield Com- survived by his wife of 43 years, Julia Hare’s personal interests included honor societies. munity Co-op, working nearly full- Gattini; two sons, Anthony and Paul extensive involvement with Mequon’s At age 20, he accepted a job at Bell time for four years with an outstand- Gattini; two grandsons, Ryan and Weyenberg Public Library Board, pre- New Dean Telephone Laboratories, commonly ing team of volunteers, and finally as a Dylan Gattini; sisters, Prudence John- ceding and including the library’s ad- thought of as the most prestigious board member. Just Food opened in son and MaryAnne Vogt and her hus- dition and expansion. As a former private research and development or- December, 2004. Other engaging band, David, as well as three brothers- Eagle Scout, Jim also was deeply in- ganization in the world. His work pursuits included serving on the Plan- in-law and their families. volved in local Boy Scout Troop 865 Welcomes motivated his graduate studies at Co- ning Commission and the Northfield where he served several years as lumbia where he earned MS and Energy Task Force’s Wind Turbine 1974 Scoutmaster. He enjoyed nothing PhD degrees in electrical engineering Working Group. It was the communi- Dr. James Willis Hare (MS) of more than being with his sons and New Students in 1965 and 1969. ty feeling of Morristown and North- Mequon, Wis. passed away unexpect- their friends on camping trips and ex- In the late 1960s, Griffith became field, not Bell Labs or Silicon Valley, edly on Aug. 10, 2009 while on vaca- peditions. Jim was an active member involved in the civil rights movement, which allowed him to most deeply tion at his beloved family summer of Crossroads Presbyterian Church local politics, and the United experience the meaning and relation- since 1981. His fondest church mem-

IN MEMORIAM home in East Orleans on Cape Cod, Methodist Church in Morristown, ships that were most important in his Mass. Hare was born in Middletown, ory was a medical mission trip to N.J. He took on his first management life. Perhaps in the end it was “spirit- N.Y. and graduated in 1964 from Honduras in 1995, where he treated position at Bell Labs and attended a filled adventurer” and not “engineer” Middletown High School, where he thousands of poor people with signif- course titled “The Theological Revo- that best describes his essence. Com- was a National Merit Scholar. After icant medical needs. lution of the 20th Century.” His munity brought meaning to his life. graduating from Colgate University He is survived by his wife of 37 commitment to social change Engineering is how he made his in 1968, he was drafted into the years, Karla Hare, and their children, through church renewal became the choices. Relationships are what he United States Army. all of whom reside in New York City: primary focus of his life. As his com- most cherished. Although strenuously opposed to Jordan Hare and his fiancé Helen ew SEAS Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora welcomed more mitment to community and service He is survived by his wife, Beret O’Reilly, Nathaniel Hare and his girl- war on moral grounds, Jim nonethe- than 1,500 new students and their parents, family, and deepened, the early marriage to Linda Elizabeth (Brown, Hanson) Griffith of less felt obligated to serve his country friend Emily Fisher, and Lauren Hare ended in 1972. Northfield; daughter, Dana Erin Grif- when called upon. He was granted and her girlfriend Jess Lopez. He is Nfriends as part of Convocation for Columbia College He became a member of the resi- fith of Clarkesville, Ga., and grand- official government status as a non- also survived by his sisters Pamela and and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied dential staff of Ecumenical Institute/ children, Evea Dinorah Kaldas and combatant conscientious objector and Jane, and brother Jonathon. Science. Peña-Mora (right) joined University President Lee C. Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) re- Andrew Samir Kaldas of Cumming, served nine months under fire in Bollinger and new Columbia College Dean Michele M. siding in New York City. In 1974, Ga.; son, Brian Andrew Griffith (Lani Vietnam as medic with an infantry Bell Labs transferred him to Kian) of San Diego, Calif.; daughter, company. OTHER DEATHS REPORTED Moody-Adams at the August 31 ceremony on South Lawn. Naperville, Ill., where he also lived Greta Elizabeth Hanson, (Rogelio Upon discharge from the Army, he Emanuel L. Brancato ’37,’38,’36CC and worked at the global headquarters Gaytan Silva), and grandchildren enrolled at Columbia Engineering, Bernard Jaffe ’38, ’39 “Like all of you new first-years sitting out there, I’m a first- of the EI/ICA in Chicago. Even Gonzalo Samuel Pirela Hanson and where he met Karla Pinson. They Walter F. Bohm ’41 year,” he said. “Like you, I am thrilled to be here and to be more importantly, it set up the cir- Manola Francesca Silva Hanson of married on Aug. 21, 1971. He re- Ronald A. Graham ’44 cumstances in which he met Beret, Minneapolis, Minn.; daughter, ceived his master’s degree in biomed- Richard Kates ’45,’47 part of this great institution that traces its roots back to 1754. who was working with the ICA. Chrystina Ellen Hanson of New York ical engineering in 1972. In 1976, he Noubar Markarian ’45 They were married Apr. 28, 1976, City; son, Benjamin Daniel Hanson received his MD degree from Cornell Arthur E. Raque Jr. ’46 “You are following in the tradition of the classes that have pre- creating a combined family of five (Cassandra Miles Hanson), and grand- University Medical College. He Dr. Arthur S. Robinson ’48,’57 children. children, Camille Adia Hanson, Is- ceded you. You are becoming part of an academic lineage that moved to Milwaukee in 1976, where Stanley R. Sobel ’48 He moved back to New Jersey with abelle Danielle Hanson, Lillian Mar- goes back to the founding of the University. King’s College, as he was in the family practice residen- Dr. Mohamed A. Adibi ’49,’55 Bell Labs in 1978. Ten years later, in garet Hanson and Gabrielle Rose cy training program at St. Michael John J. Van Venrooy ’50 Columbia was known then, in its founding mission in 1754, 1988, he was invited to open a new Hanson of Richfield, Minn.; mother- Hospital, becoming chief resident B. Weston Morosco ’51,’50CC was charged to ‘enlarge the Mind, improve the Understanding, Bell Labs location in Menlo Park, in-law, Elizabeth Krause Brown of during his final year of training. William J. Hanlon ’52 polish the whole Man [and today, also women], and qualify Calif. California proved to be even Eau Claire, Wis.; brother-in-law, From 1976 to 1988, Hare was in Aaron Kirpich ’52 more exciting than he and Beret William John Woodall of Cherokee, private family practice in Mequon. In them to support the brightest Characters in all the elevated hoped it would be. Bell Labs became Iowa; nieces, Gayle Rae (Woodall) 1988, he joined the Family Health Dr. Robert J. Spinrad ’53,’54 stations in life.’ the first of a series of demanding po- Gustafson (Steven Gustafson) and Plan Cooperative where he became Robert J. Breza ’54,’49CC sitions in Silicon Valley where he their family; and Gwen Leigh Jesse L. Acker ’55 clinic director and served on the or- “To complement the teaching of what we now know as liberal served as senior executive. (Woodall) Voss (Hank Albert Voss) and ganization’s board. After receiving fur- John A. McCague ’57,’56CC After diagnosis and treatment of their family. ther training through the American John Scribano ’57 arts, the mission of King’s College was also to teach ‘the arts of prostate cancer, Ron and Beret faced Academy of Physician Executives, he Arthur Kotopoules ’58,’69,’53CC Number and Measuring, of Surveying and Navigation . . . the a crossroads. He was again being pur- 1968 continued his medical career as a Dr. Himan Sternlicht ’58,’57CC knowledge of . . . various kinds of Meteors, Stones, Mines and sued by the start-up which would James H. Scott Jr. ’59 Paul A. Gattini (MS) of North Medical Director for several nation- Minerals, Plants and Animals, and everything useful for the mean a return to the lifestyle of the Hanover Township died Apr. 29, wide health insurers. His most recent Dr. Albert C. Frost, ’61,’67 past 11 years. A trip to Minneapolis in 2009, at University Medical Center at occupation was clinic director and Gerald G. Sills, ’61 Comfort, the Convenience and Elegance of Life.’ 2001 and a series of fortuitous events Princeton. Born in Brooklyn, Gattini physician at the Milwaukee clinic of George V. Bates III ’64 changed things forever. Over three was a resident of the area for 30 years. Concentra Occupational Health. Joshua Dybnis ’03 “. . . [F]rom the beginning, Columbia has been an institution days, they visited Northfield, signed a A U.S. Merchant Marine veteran, of and for engineers, and, as such, our School has had a long purchase agreement on a town home Gattini graduated from Kings Point and returned to their California Merchant Marine Academy on Long history of educating engineering leaders whose contributions home. They soon set off across the Island. He earned his master’s degree Family members may e-mail have influenced the lives of the world’s citizens.” Calling them country with two cats and never from Columbia. He was employed at the future of the School, he told the assembled students that looked back. Retiring to the Midwest McGuire Air Force Base as a mechan- [email protected] they can impact lives as significantly as such famous alumni as allowed them to be near family, long- ical engineer, retiring in 2002. time friends and simplify their life. He was an avid horseman, who with information for this section. Pupin, Parsons, Armstrong, and others who have preceded Griffith was enthusiastically and pas- raised and trained standard bred hors- them. Go to www.engineering.columbia.edu to read the speech sionately involved in many communi- es on his farm. He was a talented man and see the video of Dean Peña-Mora’s remarks. ty projects. He was totally engaged in who was up for any challenge. He is PHOTO BY EILEEN BARROSO

54 | COLUMBIA ENGINEERING NEWS | FALL 2009 MAKING AN IMPACT The Return of the First-Year Beanie

Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora reestablished the tradition of the first-year beanie as he stood at the door of Havemeyer Hall and personally welcomed each of the 315 members of the SEAS Class of 2013 to their first 9 a.m. orientation session. The first-years were surprised, and delighted, by the warm greeting, firm handshake, and gift of the first-year beanie. Noting that wearing a beanie was a return to a tradition going back to the late 1800s, Peña-Mora told the students it was no longer a “requirement,” but he hoped stu- dents would use it as an opportunity to build community among class members.

In the spirit of the welcome, the students doffed their beanies for a photograph and enthusiastically ap- plauded the dean as he unexpectedly leapt into the air.

Jocelyn Wilk of Columbia University Archives says that beanies were proudly worn as symbols of a first- year’s distinctive position on campus. “At one time, the wearing of the beanies was mandatory,” she notes. “The 1927-28 Columbia Blue Book contained rules: the requirement to wear the first-year cap at all times, and a notation that rule-breakers would be ‘summarily dealt with.’”

Dr. Stanley Dicker received his EngScD in mechanical engineering from Columbia SEAS in 1961. Shortly thereafter he began his long and varied career in the health care fi eld. Presently, he owns and operates two nursing homes, a health homecare business, an adult day care center, an ambulatory surgical care center, and a comprehensive care center. He has dedicated his Giving Back: philanthropy to combining his interests in engineering and health care. In 1996, he endowed the Stanley Dicker Professorship in Biomedical Engineering, held by Van C. Mow, founding chair of SEAS’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. He later es- Stanley Dicker, tablished two scholarships for undergraduates majoring in biomedical engineering in honor of his father and mother, the Jack Dicker Scholarship and the Freda Dicker Scholarship.

EngScD ’61 Dr. Dicker explains his strong connection to Columbia SEAS, noting, “When I became a graduate student at SEAS, I had a family with two young daughters that I needed to support. SEAS helped me fi nd a position as a research engineer at Columbia which allowed me to complete my doctoral studies.

“When I became able to do so, I decided to give back to the School that had made my educa- tion possible. I fi rst created a professorship in biomedical engineering and later two scholar- ships for undergraduates. I am very proud to hear Dr. Mow introduced as the Stanley Dicker Professor of Biomedical Engineering; and I am always happy to meet and speak to the very talented students that my scholarships support. I am overwhelmed with the depth of knowl- edge the students possess and how well they articulate themselves to explain their interests in pursuing their careers.

PHOTO BY EILEEN BARROSO I am very grateful to Columbia for helping me and affording me the opportunity to create the professorship and scholarships.”