spring 2013
Engineering Momentum across disciplines. across the world.™
Security Innovators
inside >> Meet the New CSE Chair
>> Alumni at SpaceX
>> Abigail Cohen
>> Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert Contents spring 2013
dean Ralph Quatrano, PhD associate dean & 6 8 executive editor Nick Benassi
senior writer & editor 2013 Beth Miller 14 View more EnWeek photos communications at engineering.wustl.edu/ designer & art direction 20 30 wustl photo engineersweek E. Brook Haley EnWeek communications manager Kristen Otto
communications & events coordinator 18 Bridget Wiegman
webmaster Ran Jing special feature contributors Frank Yin, MD, PhD 6 >> Roch Guérin
Engineering Momentum is in every issue edward jung, published by the School of cover story founder of Engineering & Applied Science intellectual at Washington University in 2 >> From the Dean 8 >> Security Innovators ventures St. Louis. Unless otherwise noted, articles may be chad williams 3 >> At a Glance reprinted without permission faculty feature with appropriate credit to 26 >> School News the publication, school and 14 >> Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert university. 28 >> Faculty News correspondence student feature School of Engineering 33 >> The Last Word & Applied Science 18 >> Abigail R. Cohen Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1163 alumni feature One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 20 >> SpaceX email [email protected] special feature phone (314) 935-6350 30 >> Frank Yin website engineering.wustl.edu
Printed on recycled paper 10% total recovered fiber/all post-consumer fiber mythbusters’ tory belleci and grant imahara in graham chapel spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 1 chad williams
wustl photo from the dean at a glance
Why engineering? Growth during the past 10 years
Why now? Why us? 2003 2013
1/2 tripled of the current faculty the number of faculty from joined the school & underrepresented groups
92% increase in undergraduate applications Engineering graduate he School of Engineering & Applied Science partner in India, IIT Bombay, we conducted a multi- students meet with alumnus (SEAS) is in a period of tremendous growth. institutional symposium focused on energy and the Zach Lemnios (fifth from Building on the firm foundation we have environment (see page 26), and last year, we joined a left), former assistant secretary of defense for enjoyed since the school was established $125 million U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research research and engineering Tin 1857, we are uniquely positioned to leverage our and Development Center to expand our global reach for the U.S. Department strengths and achieve our goal of being ranked in solar energy research. of Defense, and Dean among the top 25 engineering schools in the country. Quatrano (third from right). We want you to be part of our vision for the future We continue to attract the very best faculty, and and to help us continue our momentum. Since prospective undergraduate students are applying to releasing our strategic plan last fall (engineering. 56% SEAS in record numbers. For the 2013-14 academic wustl.edu/vision), we have made exceptional increase in annual year, we received nearly 6,200 applications for progress toward achieving our goals, some of research expenditures approximately 250 openings, up more than 20 which are highlighted in this magazine. I hope you percent from last year. Additionally, we received enjoy reading the following stories and will visit more than 1,000 applications for faculty positions. our website at engineering.wustl.edu for additional From this pool of faculty candidates, we experienced content. As always, I encourage you to send me your an unprecedented yield, with 10 of the 12 finalists ideas and feedback. choosing Washington University, including a new chair of Computer Science & Engineering and the SAT Math 738 increase in average SAT Math 762 associate director of the new Institute of Materials SAT verbal and math and Science & Engineering. SAT Verbal 683 SAT Verbal 722 ACT scores for admitted Certainly, our new state-of-the-art facilities have ACT 31.5 undergraduate students ACT 33.3
helped us attract our exceptional faculty and Ralph Quatrano, PhD students, but so has our international reputation Spencer T. Olin Professor & Dean for research. For example, in collaboration with our [email protected] continued on page 4
2 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 3 at a glance
everyday tips from our experts stay Growth during the past 10 years connected: #wustlengineers: 2003 2013 “The ability to write simple computer programs is a skill that is increasingly important across all fields. Tools like Looking 1 Glass (lookingglass.wustl.edu) can provide a fun way to introduce kids to the basics.”
Caitlin Kelleher, PhD Hugo F. & Ina Champ Urbauer Career Development 20% Assistant Professor increase in alumni to 22,946 Kelleher is helping to carry out her mission to make computer programming fun with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. g engineering.wustl.edu/sloan
facebook.com/ WUSTLengineering
“Kids love to touch new things, to pull on them, to pry them apart and to ask questions all along the way. This natural $ million curiosity easily leads to the fun aspects of science and twitter.com/ 150 WUSTLengineers engineering, the ‘wow’ and ‘aha’ moments. If we can work invested in new and renovated space opportunities for creativity exploration and even destructive
2003 whitaker hall testing into their everyday life, kids will come to see a future Search for Washington in engineering as the next step in the game.” University School of Engineering & Applied Young-Shin Jun, PhD Science Assistant Professor of Energy, Environmental 2 & Chemical Engineering 2010 brauer hall youtube.com/ WUSTLEngineering Engineering undergraduate students are putting this into practice each week by hosting a Young Engineers Club at Brittany Woods Middle School. g engineering.wustl.edu/brittanywoods instagram.com/ wustlengineers
2011 lopata gallery & stanley’s cafe
“Kids need to see the relevance of math and science to pinterest.com/ engineering as they are learning it. They need to see wustlengineers how they can use it. Schools can have demonstrations,
2011 green hall contests and more interaction with professionals in the field to get kids interested in engineering.” wustlengineering. Ikenna Odinaka tumblr.com 3 Doctoral student, Electrical & Systems Engineering
The engineering school offers local high school juniors and seniors interested in math and science the opportunity to apply to a free, one-day, hands-on introduction to engineering called Explore Engineering. Students will see how math and science can be applied to solve problems. g engineering.wustl.edu/explore >> engineering.wustl.edu
4 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 5 special feature
Q: Why Washington University? solving them depends on understanding Q: You’ve talked about medicine What attracted you here? how to compute things and doing it and health. How would Computer efficiently on new platforms. I think A: It’s a great department and a great Science & Engineering relate to we are very well positioned to play an school, and I knew several people here the other pillars of the school: important role in all these areas, with a — Jon Turner (PhD, the Barbara J. and energy and environment, caveat that if you look at predictions of Roch Guérin Jerome R. Cox, Jr. Professor of Computer entrepreneurship and security? the future, most of them are wrong. It Science), Patrick Crowley (PhD, associate A: With energy and environment, we New Department Chair of may well be that the place where we make professor) and Raj Jain (PhD, professor). only need to look at smart grids. We need a really big impact will be something that Computer Science & Engineering That played a big role. The second thing new technology to produce energy, but will emerge from informal interactions, is both in terms of potential for growth we also need computers and algorithms and that’s the beauty of academia. of the department and the vision that the to drive the computer networks and dean has for the school, I felt that this was sophisticated control systems these an opportunity to be a part of something Academia is really, technologies will require. These things that would be exciting. more than any other make it clear that computer science and computer engineering have a big Q: What is your vision for the place, a place where role to play. department? success is a function of On the environment front, we now A: First and foremost, academia is really people. There’s nothing also have a plethora of sensors that an environment where people count. create massive amounts of data that I think it would be foolish to say I’m a more important than the need to be processed and analyzed. chair coming in with a vision and that’s people you hire except Computer and communications systems what’s going to happen. I think it’s going for your students. again play a vital role in realizing this. to be the vision of the department, and The topic of smart grids also in some sense, it’s my job to nudge it dovetails with security. We have Q: What are your first priorities? here or there and help it evolve. I think sophisticated control loops, and if computer science as a whole has gone A: In some sense, my first priority is someone tampers with these systems, through an incredible story over the past not to mess it up (Laughs). The first bad things happen, so there is clearly a 20 years and is going to go through even priority of any department chair is to make strong link. more for next 20 years. This department sure we hire the best people. The second I see entrepreneurship on two has the opportunity to play a significant priority is making sure that at all levels, levels: one, how do we prepare students role in that area. The medical field from the undergraduate to the doctoral to be entrepreneurs and desire to is one that Washington University is level, we provide our students with the continue learning, and two, what role uniquely positioned to take advantage of, best opportunities, and that means do our faculty play in creating startup whether it’s direct collaboration with the looking at the curriculum and the research businesses? Students have a natural School of Medicine or the whole cyber- projects and training them the right way. interest in trying things out, and the physical system area, where I think the We have a great student population, but school encourages that. In particular, department is already very strong. you can’t take that for granted. while it is important to create a fertile ron klein There are many other areas in intellectual ground, it is equally Q&A which the department can grow and Q: How do you plan to make important to put in place the necessary Written by beth miller Roch Guérin, PhD, will begin as chair of the Computer Science & take an important role, cybersecurity connections with the other logistical support to facilitate the departments within the school and emergence of startups. Engineering department at Washington University in St. Louis July 1. being one of them. Another one is computational algorithms. We have all with the other schools? I really believe that computer science He also will be named the Harold B. and Adelaide G. Welge Professor this computational power, but it’s never A. It has to be driven by the interest of and computer engineering are at the of Computer Science at Washington University. Until then, Guérin is enough for all the important problems individual faculty. Whether it’s at the nexus of many of the exciting things that the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications Networks that we want to tackle. Again, this is an school or department levels, we can are going to happen. Everything today and professor of electrical and systems engineering and computer area where there are core strengths in facilitate things and make sure there are depends on computers, and this will and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he the department. If you look at some of no barriers. There are obvious synergies fuel the need for new innovations and a constant evolution across all areas where has been on the faculty since 1998. the problems that arise in the medical that we are already leveraging with the field — genetics, genomics and biology — medical school. they are being used. I see a huge future.
6 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 7 cover story
Chemical weapons. Computer hacking. Power grid attacks. the brain trust: Phishing. Health-care record theft. Though new technologies make our lives easier and give us more options, they also Security create more opportunities to threaten our security. he issue is so important nationally that President Barack Obama signed Tan executive order Feb. 12 calling for the creation of voluntary standards to boost Innovators the security of computer networks in critical industries, such as mass transportation and Written by beth miller public utilities. In the State of the Union Someone wearing address, he also called on Congress to pass perfume, someone chemical detection legislation giving the government a greater “drinking coffee — all When you walk into a coffee shop, a variety barani raman • kathy flores • patrick crowley • joseph o’sullivan • arye nehorai capacity to secure the nation’s networks and of these things give deter attacks. of scents greets you — brewing coffee, sweet off volatile chemicals. Security is the most critical topic of pastries, fruit and chocolate. The human brain So how do you design engineering one can identify, says Zachary is able to break down a complex cocktail of a sensing system that Lemnios, who earned a master’s in electrical signals, detect all of the different odorants desensitizes itself to engineering from WUSTL in 1979 and is now and locate their sources without us giving its background and vice president for research strategy at IBM it a thought. Even more importantly, our picks up what you’re Research. interactions with our environment are highly looking for? This dynamic in nature. Our brains adapt to their “The way we think about Internet security is what we call the environments, and we desensitize ourselves to is interwoven in our lives every day — the ‘chemical needle in a the smell of coffee. This enables our olfactory iPhone, bank transactions, the hospital data and haystack’ problem. national security data that the nation needs to systems to explore newer chemical species keep secure,” says Lemnios, who was assistant introduced into the environment. U.S. secretary of defense for research and Barani Raman, PhD, assistant professor ” engineering from 2008-December 2012. of biomedical engineering, has spent nearly “It’s among the most complex problems that a decade trying to determine how the human we see, and it’s not just a simple engineering brain and olfactory system operate to process solution. This is probably the largest research various scent and odor signals. His research, topic that universities can take on, because funded by the DOD, seeks to recreate this there are many different facets, such as policy, olfactory system. engineering and business applications,” he says. “The olfactory environment is complex,” “It touches every part of our society.” Raman says. “Someone wearing perfume, Engineers at Washington University someone drinking coffee — all of these things School of Engineering & Applied Science are give off volatile chemicals. So how do you design using interdisciplinary methods inspired by a sensing system that desensitizes itself to its biology, economics, physics and statistics background and picks up what you’re looking Raman uses to stay ahead of the world’s security needs. for? This is what we call the ‘chemical needle in a grasshoppers as haystack’ problem.” Engineering faculty had more than $1.7 million models in his research. in grants combined from the U.S. Department Raman is taking clues from biology to of Defense (DOD) in fiscal year 2012 and develop an artificial or electronic nose that would millions more from other agencies that have be able to detect volatile chemicals without security applications. threat to humans.
8 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 9 cover story
“There’s something very unique about how To get to these bunkers deep under the earth, Crowley and his collaborators have Often, the problem neural computations are being performed and the military uses “bunker busters,” bombs or developed a different approach to computer is in the devices how our brain does certain things,” he says. munitions designed to blast through the sand communications called named data networking, themselves, so that “We’re trying to study a relatively simpler and destroy underground bunkers. which builds security methods around the data “ system and learn how it deals with the olfactory Katharine Flores, PhD, professor of one is requesting. the secure channels environment, what the design principles are mechanical engineering and materials science “I request data, and I want the ability to are passing the and what are its computational principles, then, and an expert in metallic glasses, is developing independently validate that my information is wrong information. determine if we can make a device that will do all a material for the shell of the bunker buster safe computing secure and that it came from the entity I wanted You have to secure of those tasks.” bombs. Funded by the DOD’s Defense Threat it from,” he says. the data, not the Nearly everyone has received the email from Raman is working on this project through a Reduction Agency, Flores is working to develop Last year, Crowley gave a live channel. someone in a foreign country asking for three-year, $735,000 grant from the Office of metallic glass that is strong, wear-resistant demonstration of how named data networking assistance to transfer money to the United Naval Research. His ultimate goal is to create a and has low friction to penetrate various types works on a national scale across four time States, or asking you to go to a particular handheld device that could sense explosives or of sand. zones. In May, Crowley will present the named ” website to download some “important” hazardous chemicals noninvasively, saving humans “The properties of sand are completely data networking concept at the 2013 China- software. Scams seeking personal information, or scent-detection dogs from potential harm. different, so depending on what kind of sand you America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium called “phishing,” are rampant today. These have, different ordnances will penetrate further in Beijing, where 60 of the most promising Watch a video of targeted attacks cost brands and corporations or not as far,” Flores says. engineers under age 45 from China and the Crowley’s demonstration: more than $1.3 billion a year, according to a engineering.wustl.edu/ndn Flores is using computational modeling to United States will meet. study by Cisco. And there’s a new scam called help identify what combination of elements Crowley also has a startup company, “spearphishing,” in which online scammers might create an optimal metallic glass to coat Observable Networks, which provides a new target a smaller group of victims, pretending to the outside of the bomb. approach to network monitoring and security. be legitimate companies, such as banks, telling In addition, Flores has funding from the Air Crowley is chief executive and founder, victims that their bank account is overdrawn Force Office of Scientific Research to develop and Peter S. Finley, an adjunct professor of better bombshells and seeking account numbers. These messages composite materials that will potentially be used entrepreneurship in the Olin School, is chief look nearly identical to authentic emails from Militaries worldwide often use underground in gears, ball bearings or other small parts for operating officer. companies, leading them to bring in more than 10 bunkers as protection for troops or to store vehicles and machinery such as the Mars Rovers. Observable Networks works by using “big times the profit of a mass email attack. weapons and munitions. There are bunkers “We are looking to design a material data” methods to monitor and model the behavior Patrick Crowley, associate professor of built into caves in Asia and concrete bunkers that is very wear-resistant in an inhospitable of all devices on an enterprise network so that computer science and engineering, is looking at buried deep under the sand in the Middle East. environment for a long time,” Flores says. customers can understand the good behaviors how this happens. and fix the risky or dangerous ones, Crowley “All information is digital today, and the Katharine Flores, PhD, says. It uses information that only network and Peter Tsai, unfortunate state of affairs is that anything administrators can access to tilt the playing field. a doctoral student, digital can be hacked,” he says. “That’s what discuss using a laser drives the core of global interest in improving the additive manufacturing structural foundation of our global networks.” process to produce Crowley has developed a novel view of how metallic alloys with graded compositions. hacking happens. “There’s a mismatch between the way we communicate and how our networks are built today,” he says. “That mismatch is where you find the problems.” Today’s Internet protocols use a just one heartbeat communications model that can only support Taking one’s vital signs is routine at a doctor’s and secure point-to-point communication visit. But what if the heart rate and pulse could between devices with network addresses, be measured from a distance without touching Crowley says. For example, your web browser the person? A group of researchers from the sends a request for a page to a server’s network schools of engineering and medicine say it is address. The network then tries to secure the possible with the right equipment. A rendering of the laser “tunnel” between the two devices, but that’s the Joseph O’Sullivan, PhD, the Samuel C. Sachs device used in laser doppler wrong target. Professor of Electrical Engineering and dean vibrometry ron klein
10 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 11 cover story
signal processing In laser doppler vibrometry, the We’ve all seen cameras in ceilings or swiped device points a laser a card to enter a building or hotel room. The at a person’s carotid cameras and the card readers act as sensors that artery, reading heart rate, pulse collect data about the user. But with multiple and other biological types of data, how does one merge the data to markers, from up to detect the signals of interest? methods to track targets using multiple types 100 meters away. That’s what Arye Nehorai, PhD, the Eugene of sensors, including electromagnetic, optical and Martha Lohman Professor and chair of the and human scouts. The new methods for Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & the optimal fusion of the different types of If we know a little Systems Engineering and director of the Center sensors are analogous with pricing theory in about the physical for Sensor Signal and Information Processing, is economics. His group also developed optimal “environment, we trying to find out through his studies of sensors selections of radar waveforms that can track can exploit this and signals. evading targets using game theory, which also knowledge to model “The challenge is to extract the signal, or originated from economics. the reflections from the important information, from the noise in Nehorai’s research translates from defense the walls and find the presence of mostly unknown environments,” and security to civilian applications. For what happens inside kevin swift Nehorai says. example, clinical researchers are using through- the building. Funded by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the-wall imaging to detect breast cancer using of the UMSL/WUSTL Joint Undergraduate this laser at someone’s skin, we can pick up the National Science Foundation, Nehorai and microwaves. Other sensors are being used to Engineering Program, and a doctoral student, that energy that’s generated inside the body his research team take the data from a variety model the activities of the brain, which helps ” Ikenna Odinaka, are developing equipment and communicated in vibrations in the skin. of sensors and model what they measure in a them to find the source of seizures in patients There is no faking for this purpose with John Rohrbaugh, PhD, Collectively, this tells us a lot about the status mathematical form, then analyze the data using with epilepsy by using a variety of electrodes this in terms professor of psychiatry, and Erik Sirevaag, PhD, of the whole cardiovascular system.” statistical tools based on inference and predic- or magnometers. “ of stealing a research assistant professor of psychiatry. One of the potential applications is in a tion. The research is typically multidisciplinary “The common thing is that we have fingerprint or The process is called laser doppler vibrometry, neonatal intensive care unit, where a human as the modeling is based on physics, biology or sensor arrays, and we try to learn about the trying to fool an iris which uses electromagnetic waves pointed at touch could alter a newborn’s heartbeat or chemistry, depending on the applications, and the environment,” Nehorai says. “The methods are or retina scan. the carotid artery in the neck or at the temple pulse, or signal. inference analysis is statistical. similar, but the model is different.” for as short a time as one heartbeat. Accurate “If we can take a measurement without One of his research areas is through-the- measurements can be made from up to 100 touching them and get the cardiovascular health wall imaging, which uses remote sensing based going forward ” meters away, O’Sullivan says. of the baby, we can constantly monitor them on radar outside of a building to detect what’s As security needs rapidly change, the engineering “You can listen to a heartbeat with a without changing the signal,” Odinaka says. happening inside the building. He developed field also will need to adapt. Engineers are stethoscope on the skin’s surface and make Another potential application is triage on a methods that can estimate the indoor layout, needed to develop solutions to thwart potential inferences about the person,” O’Sullivan says. battlefield or disaster situation. track people in the building and determine attempts to sabotage the power grid, financial Engineering’s Professional Education program will “That’s what we’re looking at — the mechanical “If there are wounded individuals on the if there are weapons inside. These methods institutions and air traffic control systems. launch a new master’s consider reflection, diffraction and refraction effects at the surface that you can use to make battlefield or in a disaster scene, and first Engineering is adding new faculty who degree program in inferences about the state of the individual.” responders aren’t sure of the safety of the of the signals for various wall materials. This have interest and expertise in research with cybersecurity management beginning in Fall 2013. The O’Sullivan and Odinaka are working to area, they can try to make an assessment at a type of sensing is being used by the U.S. military. applications in critical areas of security, 36-credit-hour program take heart rate, pulse and other physiological distance of the health status of the wounded “Remote sensing uses electromagnetic including cybersecurity, public policy and ethics. will focus on cyber security measurements, or biometrics, of individuals individuals and determine who is dead or waves that we transmit using radar,” In addition, faculty will address security issues knowledge and management Doctoral student practices for both public over time and create a database of who is alive and needs immediate attention,” Nehorai says. within the curriculum and in special projects Ikenna Odinaka and private enterprises. measurements and the shape of the heartbeat. O’Sullivan says. Nehorai proposed the use of multi- challenging students to imagine new approaches For more information: That data could later be used to authenticate Other researchers from Engineering dimensional sensors that measure the complete to preventing attacks. engineering.wustl.edu/csm one’s identity. working on the project include William Richard, electromagnetic or acoustic field information at “With the growth of data on the Internet The Center for the Application of Information “Much of what goes on in the body has PhD, associate professor, and Robert Pless, a point to maximize the sensing capabilities of and the growing use of the multimedia systems Technology (CAIT) offers a mechanical basis and makes noises, rubs, PhD, professor, both from Computer Science & the measurement systems. In fact, he coined the that we all carry — iPhones, Blackberries — all classes and workshops in squeaks, pulses and vibrations that we can Engineering; and Robert Morley, PhD, associate term “vector sensors,” which are now deployed of this has changed the way we’re connected,” information security. >> cait.wustl.edu sometimes hear, but there are tiny versions professor, and Ed Richter, research associate, in defense systems worldwide. Lemnios says. “Everyone on the planet will be of this as well,” Rohrbaugh says. “If we point both in Electrical & Systems Engineering. Recently Nehorai’s group developed part of this wired network.”
12 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 13 faculty feature
hen Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD, earned bachelor’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996, Washington University’s Department of Biomedical EngineeringW was on the verge of being founded. Nearly 17 years later, Sakiyama-Elbert, professor and associate chair of biomedical engineering, has been an emerging leader in the fast-growing department and has become widely known for her groundbreaking work in tissue engineering techniques. Her career has been fast-growing as well. Sakiyama- Elbert was named a Faculty Fellow in the Office of the Provost by Edward S. Macias, PhD, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, for which she will work on a variety of university initiatives, including strengthening diversity, increasing faculty leadership opportunities, particularly among women and underrepresented faculty, and encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation. She also is adding to her arsenal of skills by participating in the Women’s Leadership Forum Certificate Program at the Olin School of Business, which prepares high-potential women for even higher levels of impact in their organizations. Sakiyama-Elbert and her husband, Donald L. Elbert, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, were faculty members No. 5 and No. 6 in the department, which was only three years old when they arrived, so they’ve seen a lot of growth. “What attracted me to Washington University was the opportunity to have really outstanding collaborations with clinicians in an environment where people were really open to working together, viewing it as a two- way street, and also the opportunity to get involved in a new biomedical engineering department at a very early stage,” she says. “I feel we’ve had a big impact in the shaping of the curriculum and the faculty for the Written by beth miller undergraduate and graduate programs.” Sakiyama-Elbert’s research expertly blends biology, chemistry and biomedical engineering to focus on developing biomaterials for drug delivery and cell transplantation to treat peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries. Her research is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health. Sakiyama-Elbert is working to find novel forward biomaterials that will allow controlled release of growth factors, or protein molecules made by the body that regulate cell division and survival, and promote regeneration in the spinal cord after a traumatic injury. photos by devon hill thinker 14 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 15 faculty feature
These growth factors are delivered via a “scaffold,” or a Sakiyama-Elbert has been working with Gelberman Left to right: Watch a virtual tour of the lab: Lab members Jessica temporary support structure. She can also add stem cells and Stavros Thomopoulos, PhD, associate professor of youtube.com/WUSTLEngineering Butts,Thomas Wilems, to repopulate the injured spinal cord with neurons and other orthopaedic surgery, to find ways to deliver drugs to Sara Oswald, Shelly cells that have been lost as a result of injury. enhance the regeneration to the flexor tendon in the hand Sakiyama-Elbert, Dylan But her research isn’t limited to the School of after an injury, such as a deep cut on the palm side of the McCreedy, Nisha Iyes Engineering & Applied Science — it often crosses Forest fingers or hand. The team is working on a new study adding and Laura Marquardt (not pictured: Hao Xu, Xi Park to the School of Medicine. in stem cells to boost the healing process. Lu and Chelsea Brown) “What’s great about Washington University is that “Stem cells could be differentiated into tendon there are so many clinicians interested in collaborating fibroblasts (connective tissue cells that make and secrete and who have interesting clinical problems,” she says. “But collagen proteins), either before or after transplant, where they don’t necessarily have the tools to take basic science we would put them in and try to get them to differentiate in discoveries that might be useful for solving their problems, vivo,” she says. and they need a framework. In engineering, we gather the Below (from left): Alex, design criteria for the problem from the clinicians, and we In the classroom Don, Ryan and Shelly can take that back and translate the basic discoveries into While she enjoys working with physicians, Sakiyama- something applicable to a clinical problem.” Elbert also enjoys being in the classroom and working with students in her lab. “She is not afraid to move out Dylan McCreedy, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering, has been working in Sakiyama-Elbert’s lab for of her area of expertise to look nearly five years, focusing on tissue engineering for repairs at someone else’s work and to injuries in the central nervous system. “Shelly has been an excellent mentor,” he says. “She students,” she says. “In Molecular Cell Biology, we learn shed light on it. She’s extremely has allowed me to be a very independent worker, which has how to read primary literature and think about it critically. generous academically, and she’s been nice as it allows me to explore many areas in the lab. What I want them to take away from the class is that when She’s been very good about helping me understand the many they read a paper in a journal, not to take it all as fact. Think not a self-promoter — two good facets of research, including how to get funding, writing about it critically, analyze the data and determine if it qualities to have when you’re in papers for journals and dealing with regulatory agencies and supports the author’s conclusions.” has really shown me what it takes Working together is nothing new for them. The two are a university environment with to be a professor.” The path to Washington University co-investigators on a National Institutes of Health R21 grant, Although she gives McCreedy Facts people who need your help.” Sakiyama-Elbert always liked biology and chemistry, and which created an interesting requirement, Don Elbert says. and other members of her lab g Number of as she went through her education at MIT, she wanted to “In writing the grant as co-PIs, we had to write a plan — Susan E. Mackinnon, MD independence, she’s never far publications: 55 create potential therapies that could help patients with for conflict resolution,” he says. away, he says. g Number of medical issues. She considered medical school but was Managing a family that includes two full-time faculty “She’s always there to answer doctoral students: drawn to research and teaching, particularly after serving Some of those clinical problems come from long- 6 and two children — sons Alex, 7, and Ryan, 4 — takes some questions and provide guidance as a teaching assistant in organic chemistry while an standing collaborations with Susan E. Mackinnon, MD, g Total research funding: schedule coordination, Sakiyama-Elbert says, but it works when you ask for it, but she’s undergraduate. chair of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive million well. Her parents also live in the area. not one to tell you how to do her $1.76 “I chose biomedical engineering because I could pull Surgery, and Richard Gelberman, MD, chair of the Of all the aspects of her job, she enjoys freedom of research,” he says. together biology and chemical engineering,” she says. “I Department of Orthopedics. thinking the most, she says. Since she arrived at WUSTL really enjoy taking the engineering piece and applying it to “We have developed a very tight relationship that is “I appreciate the autonomy to really think about in 2000, she has designed problems in biology and medicine.” mutually beneficial,” Mackinnon says. “Shelly has a very interesting problems and come up with a way to solve four primarily graduate After earning bachelor’s degrees in chemical broad knowledge and sees applications for things that them,” she says. “If you can have a good idea and can courses: Engineering Aspects engineering and biology from MIT, Sakiyama-Elbert went other people might not notice.” convince others that it’s reasonable to give you some of Biotechnology, Tissue to California Institute of Technology to earn a master’s “Shelly picks up on things quickly,” Gelberman says. money, you can really explore whatever problems you want Engineering, Biotechnology and doctorate in chemical engineering. It was there she “She has worked for years in nerve tissue engineering and to look at. I enjoy planning where we want to go, what is the Techniques for Engineers and met Don Elbert, who also was working in the lab of Jeffrey has taken what she’s learned there and applied it to tendon next thing we want to go forward with in our research and Molecular Cell Biology for g Book recently read: A. Hubbell, PhD. They went to Zurich, Switzerland, with tissue. She is contributing greatly with her experience The Signal and the Noise: where we are going to go next.” Engineers. Hubbell from 1997-2000 and married in 1999. in and knowledge of bioscaffolds and biomaterials. It’s a Why So Many Predictions Fail “I like teaching — it’s fun to But Some Don’t, by Nate Silver terrific collaboration.” share my excitement with the g engineering.wustl.edu/faculty/sakiyama-elbert
16 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 17 student feature
Written by beth miller
bigail R. Cohen, a senior biomedical Left to right: engineering student, has had a lot of Cohen and Andrew good things happen in the past several Brimer at the 2013 Olin Cup competition; months. She is part of a team that Spirometer prototype wonA a $30,000 prize in this year’s Olin Cup and was recently chosen to join the 2013 Class of Entrepreneurial Fellows by Pipeline. Kansas City-based Pipeline is a community
of Midwest entrepreneurs designed to build high- mary butkus ron klein growth companies, empower entrepreneurs and build the region’s economy. Each year, about a dozen Cohen is part of a student-led team that founded Cohen and Brimer, along with other students, also won entrepreneurs from Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska Sparo Labs, which stems from an award-winning project first place in two national engineering competitions last are selected to join Pipeline for a yearlong business to develop a low-cost spirometer, a device that measures summer, resulting in $15,000 in prizes. development program designed to speed the growth lung function. The team has spent about a year and a half In addition to the $30,000 Olin Cup prize, of their companies. Participants attend four Sponsored by the developing the product and a prototype that conquers the the Sparo Labs team won one of three $5,000 Skandalaris Center for three-day modules a year. historical issues of high cost and difficulty of use. Most student grants. The team also is entering a Entrepreneurial Studies, Cohen is the only woman and the only spirometers cost between $1,000-$2,000, making them variety of other competitions to raise seed the Olin Cup typically awards $70,000 in seed undergraduate student selected for the unaffordable for hospitals and clinics in the developing funding. Cohen and Brimer plan to work for Sparo 2013 class. investment money to world. However, the device the student team designed Labs full-time after they each graduate in May. fund startup businesses “From my initial contact with costs about $8. The low cost could allow health-care In addition to her work with Sparo Labs, and a $5,000 student Pipeline, the experience has been providers in developing countries to purchase the Cohen has been actively involved in the prize. Winners may amazing,” Cohen says. “The energy spirometers, which are specially designed for accuracy engineering school. She received the Linda receive in-kind services from the organization is overwhelming from one or more of the and durability despite their price. M. Berger Scholarship in Engineering, is vice competition sponsors in a good way, from the members to Other team members include Andrew Brimer, president of EWB/EWH, is on the Senior Gift in addition to any cash the leaders to the people planning the also a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, Committee and is a member of Alpha Eta Mu investment. events. Everyone is so excited to help us Jonathon Koo and Chris Cassidy, both Olin Business Beta, a national biomedical engineering honor entrepreneurs. It’s been wonderful because School students. society. Previously, she was a leader for Peer Led Team we’re always looking to reach out to people Cohen says being chosen for Pipeline was unexpected Learning for three years and was on the Division 3 National and get some advice. It’s going to be a great because Sparo Labs is in its early stages. Championship basketball team her freshman year. network, but it’s also a great group of people.” “But we’re at a stage where we are ready to take in She also conducted research in two labs at Barnes- as much information as we can,” she says. “We want to Jewish Hospital and one at Wayne State University and network around the country and connect with as many is co-author of an article that was recently accepted for people as we can. It’s going to be an exciting year.” publication. She completed an internship with Stryker Cohen and Brimer originally developed the device Orthobiologics. with other students from the university’s Engineers “I’ve known Abby as a strong student and leader in Without Borders/Engineering World Health (EWB/EWH) EWB/EWH, but her work on the spirometer is one of the student group, Now, Sparo Labs is preparing a product most impressive efforts I have seen from a WU student,” Abigail for clinical trials and FDA approval that empowers says Melanie Osborn, assistant dean for student services patients to quantitatively track and proactively manage at the School of Engineering & Applied Science. “Abby asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary asked me to give a quick review of her proposal for her disorder and other respiratory diseases via seamless patent attorney, but I think she did his work for him! integration with smartphones, tablets and computers Abby and Andrew have developed a potentially lifesaving Cohen — ultimately implementing low-cost diagnostic and device at low cost, and her dedication to getting this Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellow monitoring spirometry worldwide. The team has filed for product to the people who need it most is nothing short a patent. of inspiring.”
ron klein
18 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 19 alumni feature
Left to right: Erin Beck, Benjamin Siepser, Christian Melbostad, Samuel Wight, Achal Upadhyaya, Brian Aggrey, Molly McCormick
WORK THAT’S
courtesy of spacex OUT OF THIS W RLD 20 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 21 alumni feature
Last fall, the world watched with fascination as the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station was completed. Previously, only nations had accomplished the feat. A Washington University School of Engineering & Applied Science student and several alumni were also watching closely, as they all had a hand in the mission’s successes.
Written by beth miller
he WUSTL Engineering alumni and student intern all work for Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better “When I heard about SpaceX and how it Tknown as SpaceX. The California-based, 11-year-old is revolutionizing space flight — making privately held company designs, manufactures and launches it more cost-effective, more reliable and rockets and spacecraft. Now, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a multibillion-dollar more routine than it has ever been in the customer and with nearly 50 governmental and commercial past — that goal resonated with me.” launches planned, SpaceX is the fastest-growing U.S. launch- — brian aggrey services company. And SpaceX is doing more than flying rockets and delivering supplies. It is working with NASA to develop its Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts to space. The man with the dream that became SpaceX is PayPal founder Elon Musk, who is chairman of SolarCity, a residential solar provider, and co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Tesla Motors, an all-electric American car company, as well as chief executive and chief designer at SpaceX. SpaceX’s Dragon, a free-flying, reusable spacecraft that can attach to the International Space Station, is launched by the Falcon 9 rocket. Undergraduate student Brian Aggrey, View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX a mechanical engineering major expected to graduate this Dragon spacecraft as December, spent the summer and fall of 2012 as a structures the station’s robotic arm intern working on the Falcon 9. He was recruited as an intern moves Dragon into place for at the Career Fair by Washington University alumni who now Watch a tour of the SpaceX facility: attachment to the station. May 25, 2012. work at SpaceX. youtube.com, search “Elons Tour of SpaceX” Aggrey says the internship was a perfect fit for his interests. courtesy of nasa
22 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 23 alumni feature
“I’ve always been interested in things that fly,” he says. “But it seemed like NASA and space flight were so far out there, and I didn’t think rockets were my thing. But when I heard about SpaceX and how it is revolutionizing space flight — making it more cost-effective, more reliable and more routine than it has ever been in the past — that goal resonated with me.” The Washington University contingent at SpaceX is diverse, but they have several things in common: a belief in the company’s mission to change the space industry and pride in being part of next-generation space technology. All of the alumni and Aggrey also say having hands-on, practical experience, as well as the development of critical-thinking “The reason I came here was to be and problem-solving skills while students at Washington a part of something monumental, University, were among the most important factors in something that would change the way getting hired. “SpaceX is unique in the aerospace industry with the humans access space and change the opportunities that it offers to new graduates,” says Erin way we do things technologically and Beck, who earned degrees in engineering and physics from further exploration. There are not a Washington University in 2008 and works as an avionics lot of places to do that, especially as systems integration engineer on the Dragon project. “Young people can come to SpaceX right out of school and have a lot a young person.”
of opportunity and responsibility very quickly. My education — erin beck and hands-on experiences at Washington University were the perfect preparation for my role at this history-making company,” she says. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials courtesy of spacex Aggrey got a taste of the responsibility even as an Science, for giving him practical experience in the Center for intern. Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology (CINT) designing SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft “The company culture at SpaceX is very fast-paced an implantable hydrocephalus monitor that is in the process and very performance-driven,” Aggrey says. “There is a big of getting a patent. our predecessors, but space exploration is the objective,” emphasis on being able to accomplish a lot within a short “We offer students hands-on experience in research, Melbostad says. “Our singular goal is to provide safe, reliable amount of time. But I think that sort of culture is what design, analysis, prototyping, testing and leadership,” Genin and economical access to space. It is an aspiring motivator, separates SpaceX from older aerospace companies. We says. “Students who tap into some of these end up far and we take pride in our contributions. This manifests itself have a lot of engineers who are very enthusiastic about the ahead after graduation. Sam tapped into all of them.” in a rise-to-the-challenge, go-above-and-beyond, get-it-done work they are doing, and that enthusiasm carries a company Benjamin Siepser, who earned a degree in electrical attitude throughout SpaceX.” a long way.” and computer engineering in 2008, works on digital logic From membership in ENCouncil to coordination of That responsibility also is a source of pride for the systems. Vertigo to involvement in the WURacing Formula SAE employees. “What I like about SpaceX is that I get to work on race-car team, all of the alumni and interns at SpaceX say “One of the things I like best about SpaceX is that you projects from the ground up,” he says. “I get to design having hands-on, practical experience, getting involved in feel like you have ownership of what you work on and that protocols, figure out how to make them work and take part extracurricular projects, and having critical-thinking and your work makes a very big difference to the company and in the testing. It’s fast — at SpaceX, the time of inception problem-solving skills are among the most important factors for students interested in a career in aerospace. the vehicle,” says Samuel Wight, a 2010 graduate with a of a project to getting the hardware and working on it is courtesy of nasa bachelor’s and a master’s in mechanical engineering. “My engineering education has governed all of the months at most, not years. It’s exciting that within a year of The SpaceX team aren’t the only Engineering alumni “That helps to motivate people. I’m getting a huge amount things that I deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Aggrey says. me starting a project, it’s in space.” involved with the International Space Station. “It provided the background and the way of thinking that I of experience.” Christian Melbostad, a 2001 graduate in electrical Air Force Col. Robert L. Behnken, PhD, who earned use daily at work. But just as important as my engineering Wight, who started working at SpaceX in August engineering and finance and now a SpaceX mission manager, a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and physics education within the curriculum is what I’ve done outside of 2010, is a lead engineer for payload accommodations in says the sense of pride and ownership of work at SpaceX is from WUSTL in 1992, is the chief astronaut officer for the structures group, working on release systems for similar to the “space race” culture at NASA in the 1960s. classes. Being on the Formula SAE race car team in particular NASA and has taken two missions to the International satellites. He credits Guy Genin, PhD, associate professor “Today, we’re working with a conviction matching has really given me a lot of experience that I call on for design.” Space Station for NASA.
24 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 25 school news
Global leaders gather in India Students to turn university housing ‘green’ Students from three WUSTL schools, including the School of Engineering & Applied Science, Clinton Global are participating in a pioneering project to make some university-owned housing more sustainable. Initiative University The project, called “The Quadrangle
g Experiment,” is designed to find the most held at Washington University in St. Louis April 5-7 efficient way to renovate 1920s and ‘30s-era apartment buildings owned by Quadrangle Housing, the university’s nonprofit housing office, to become more environmentally friendly and to make better use of the space.
This spring, students have designed Written by beth miller wustl photo renovations for 745 and 749 Westgate Ave. Professor Pratim Biswas One building will be renovated using standard CGI U, led by President Bill Clinton procedures and used as a control, while the other and Chelsea Clinton, brought together Washington University in will be renovated using sustainable procedures more than 1,000 college students St. Louis and its academic and best practices with the ultimate goal of net- with innovators, thought leaders and and corporate partners zero energy, water and waste. worldwide put research into civically engaged celebrities to make action in December by leading g engineering.wustl.edu/greenhousing Commitments to Action to address the adam schultz — clinton global initiative a major initiative in Mumbai, India, most pressing challenges facing their to address global energy and Five School of Engineering & Applied Science student campuses and communities in areas such as education, environment and climate environmental solutions. teams presented their commitments to action at the The WUSTL-led McDonnell Academy arch grants medpreps sleeve a message paramount apparel change, human rights, poverty alleviation Global Energy and Environmental pharos scientific startlouis juristat lori coulter swimwear sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U). and public health. More than $400,000 in funding Partnership (MAGEEP), a consortium of tunespeak observable networks evetos gremln material mix Correctional Education Reform Through American Lung Association, to develop a was available for students to carry 28 international universities, convened Technology: Xiaochang Song (freshman) campaign that raises asthma awareness out their commitments made at CGI U, for the Fourth International Symposium — His project focuses on fundraising, and educates patients on how to best primarily through the newly established on Energy and Environment: ACCESS recruiting and working with the manage their asthma. CGI University Network of 33 colleges (Abundant Clean Cost-effective Energy correctional department in the St. Louis Engineering My Future Mentorship Systems for Sustainability). County Jail to plan a schedule to build a and universities that have committed to Program: Jasmine Kwasa (senior), Deborah “We know that by working together, computer lab by March 2014. support, mentor and provide seed funding T-REx Ohiani-Jegede (junior), Jennifer Onyi to student innovators and entrepreneurs we can address what are some of Development of Systems Thinking Oradiegwu (junior) and Imani Smith from their respective schools. the most critical challenges facing Course embeds students offices in the historic Railway Exchange Curriculum in Schools: Madeleine Polk (freshman) — Engineering My Future Washington University in St. our planet. We believe we have an with startup companies Building. As part of the new course, (junior) — Polk plans to develop a means will address the low interest, enrollment Louis was chosen to host this year’s opportunity and responsibility to the Washington University students will Washington University’s business, of replicating and implementing Systems and retention of women of color in CGI U because it is recognized as an people of the world to work toward engage in consulting projects for Thinking curriculum in schools, design new undergraduate STEM majors. The program engineering and law schools are international leader in contributing to meeting these challenges,” says Pratim resident entrepreneurs at T-REx to materials for more teachers to see the will team female high school students with collaborating on a new course in dialogue, finding solutions and preparing Biswas, PhD, chair of the Department better understand the inner workings of relevance of Systems Thinking for their female WUSTL-National Society of Black 2013 that will embed students in the young people to address the world’s most of Energy, Environmental & Chemical growing a business from the ground up. students and measure impact based on Engineers mentors. center of the thriving entrepreneur pressing challenges. Engineering and the Lucy and Stanley The course is open to interviews with participating teachers community in downtown St. Louis. Team Photocure: Charles Wu (sophomore), This year’s program addressed issues Lopata Professor. undergraduates and graduate students and administrators. Students will trade their campus Huy Lam (freshman), Matt Speizman throughout CGI U’s five focus areas: in Washington University’s business, g engineering.wustl.edu/india classroom for working space at T-REx, Educational Asthma Management (freshman) and Fangzhou Xiao (freshman) Education, Environment and Climate engineering and law schools. a new St. Louis tech incubator that Campaign: Abigail Cohen (senior) and — Our goal is to make a low-cost and Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty offers startup companies affordable g engineering.wustl.edu/trex Andrew Brimer (senior) — Cohen and portable phototherapeutic treatment Alleviation and Public Health. Brimer are committed to partnering with a device for one of the most significant national organization, such as the Asthma factors that contribute to neonatal deaths cgiu.wustl.edu 26 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu and Allergy Foundation of America or — hyperbilirubinemia, or jaundice. springg 2013 > Engineering Momentum 27 faculty news
Bayly, team get $2.25 million could better protect human lungs from Jun to use novel process to Technique to uncover injury in urine. Biomarkers are small Distinguished Professor of Biomedical grant to study brain mechanics allergens, airborne viruses and ultrafine study nanoparticle formation proteins could simplify kidney molecules or proteins in the body whose Engineering, could eventually be used particles in the air. concentration changes in response to to determine how oxygen is delivered Sunscreen contains nanoparticles to disease detection The device, known as the SXC ESP, disease or therapy. to normal and diseased tissues or how protect our skin by reflecting hazardous Detecting whether a patient will have was created by a team led by Pratim The team’s goal is to print this various disease therapies impact oxygen ultraviolet radiation from the sun. But acute kidney injury could become as Biswas, PhD, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata sensor on a piece of paper with an delivery throughout the body. what happens to those nanoparticles simple as dipping a paper test strip Professor and chair of the Department everyday inkjet printer so physicians The research was published March when you wash the sunscreen away? printed with gold nanorods into urine, of Energy, Environmental & Chemical and clinics have an inexpensive test 25 in PNAS Online Early Edition. Washington University researchers Engineering. A recent published study available when they need it. If they The new technology that Wang have found. of the device found that it could help to can create an inexpensive technology developed, called photoacoustic Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD, prevent respiratory and viral infections that could be used more efficiently, flowoxigraphy, assistant professor of Mechanical and inhalation-induced allergic reactions physicians could catch the disease much uses light in School of Engineering & Applied Engineering & Materials Science, more efficiently than existing filter- earlier and save a lot of lives. a novel way Science researchers have received a along with Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD, based systems. The device finds viruses that allows five-year, $2.25 million grant to better and Jerry Morrissey, PhD, at the g engineering.wustl.edu/kidney or toxic particles or bioterror agents and researchers to understand traumatic brain injuries School of Medicine, have developed a inactivates them in one application. watch red blood in efforts to improve methods for biomedical sensor using gold nanorods Wang to study oxygen cells flowing through tiny capillaries, the prevention and treatment. g engineering.wustl.edu/cleanair designed to detect the elevation of a consumption in cells smallest of the body’s blood vessels at Philip Bayly, PhD, the Lilyan and E. promising biomarker for acute kidney In an engineering breakthrough, a about the width of one red blood cell. Lisle Hughes Professor of Mechanical Genes provide clues to gender Washington University biomedical The technology could help Engineering and chair of the Department disparity in human hearts researcher has discovered a way to use researchers and physicians to determine of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Young-Shin Jun, PhD, assistant light and color to measure oxygen in how cancer or diabetes change oxygen Science, is principal investigator of the Healthy men and women show little professor of Energy, Environmental individual red blood cells in real time. metabolism. grant from the National Institutes of difference in their hearts, except for & Chemical Engineering, has received The technology, developed by Health. The grant will allow Bayly and his small electrocardiographic disparities. a three-year, $382,000 grant from g engineering.wustl.edu/oxygen Lihong Wang, PhD, the Gene K. Beare research team to develop 3-D computer But new genetic differences found the National Science Foundation to models of brain biomechanics that will by Igor Efimov, PhD, the Lucy and determine the physical and chemical Stanley Lopata give researchers and clinicians a better evolution of environmental and NSF grants CAREER Award to Caitlin Kelleher receives Sloan understanding about what happens to Distinguished engineered nanoparticles in natural Jung-Tsung Shen Foundation Fellowship the brain during traumatic brain injury. Professor of and engineered aquatic systems, such Previously, Bayly and his research team Biomedical as wastewater treatment plants. But Jung-Tsung Shen, PhD, the Caitlin Kelleher, PhD, the measured brain motion and mechanical Engineering, in instead of starting at the end of the life Das Family Distinguished Hugo F. & Ina Champ Urbauer properties of the brain in 2-D. hearts with disease cycle of nanoparticles, she’s starting at Career Development Career Development could ultimately lead to personalized the very beginning . Assistant Professor, has Assistant Professor in the g engineering.wustl.edu/brainmechanics treatment of various heart ailments. The goal is to determine whether won a prestigious Faculty Department of Computer While prior studies have clearly nanoparticle transformation in Early Career Development Science & Engineering, New device better traps established differences in the wastewater treatment will introduce Award (CAREER) from has received a prestigious viruses, airborne pathogens development of heart disease between more adverse effects on the quality of the National Science research fellowship from the men and women, very few studies had the effluent water from wastewater Foundation. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. jung-tsung shen caitlin kelleher looked at the molecular mechanisms treatment systems, how these This is a five-year, The two-year, $50,000 behind those differences in human hearts. nanoparticles can be removed from the $400,000 grant to study the mechanisms for fellowship supports early-career scientists and Efimov and a former doctoral system or how they can be further used enhancing optical nonlinearity in subwavelength scholars in science, mathematics, economics and student, Christina Ambrosi, PhD, analyzed to better remove toxic contaminants. metallic nanostructures. Results of the research computer science. 34 human hearts. They expected very will benefit optical science, providing mechanisms “My research centers on ‘democratizing’ g engineering.wustl.edu/sunscreen large gender differences in expression of to enhance and tailor the optical nonlinearity computer programming,” Kelleher says. “Today, genes in the ventricles, but did not find to create multifunctional nonlinear optical computing enables progress across nearly all fields. School of Engineering & Applied them. Unexpectedly, they found huge materials that will have potential applications It’s something everyone should be able to do.” Science researchers have created a new gender differences in the atria. for ultracompact optoelectronics, ultra-fast Kelleher will use the funding from the Sloan telecommunications and high-resolution optical Foundation to continue researching how to make type of air-cleaning technology that g engineering.wustl.edu/geneclues imaging beyond the diffraction limit. computer programming accessible to everyone.
28 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 29 special feature
in, the Stephen F. and Camilla T. “Frank’s impact one of the world’s top programs, furthering Brauer Distinguished Professor of will be realized for the university’s position as a leader in Biomedical Engineering, is stepping scientific teaching and research.” Y many years to come When Frank Yin, MD, PhD, steps down as chair down as department chair June 30, 2013, While building a department was a new of the Washington University Department and will take a yearlong sabbatical before through the work venture for Yin, he had a guiding principle and returning as a full-time faculty member. of the outstanding a few goals in mind. of Biomedical Engineering this June, During his 15-plus years as chair of the faculty and students “The principle I started with — and still he’ll emulate St. Louis Cardinals manager department, he created a legacy by building who Frank helped hold to — is that it’s vitally important to aim one of the top biomedical engineering recruit and mentor.” for the highest quality in all aspects,” he says. Tony LaRussa by going out at the top of his game. departments in the United States. With the “I also had an idea about what areas would skill of a professional baseball manager, Yin — Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton be important and compelling to build a new has handpicked 18 of the now 20 world-class department around — those on the cutting faculty members who make up his team and biomedical edge and with a good future.” Tribute to Frank Yin engineering today have propelled the department to one of A good baseball team needs not only the fastest-growing and most successful at 20 outstanding players but also a stadium in Washington University. full-time faculty which to play. So in 1999, Yin helped bring Written by beth miller The department has consistently been in a $15 million grant from the Whitaker ranked among the top 15 U.S. biomedical 115 Foundation that allowed the department to engineering departments. It 2010 it ranked recruit and hire new faculty and launch the graduate students No. 1 in both per capita faculty research building of Uncas A. Whitaker Hall, completed funding and publication citations. 400 in 2002, as the home base for the growing This spring, Yin will receive the Dean’s department. The $41 million, 55,000-square- undergraduate students Award — the highest honor bestowed by foot structure made subsequent recruitment the dean — for his accomplishments in much easier, Yin says. Engineering. In addition, Yin chose to donate $13 “By the time the building opened, it was any school funds for a party in his honor to million in research funding (FY12) pretty clear to everyone that this was going endow a graduate fellowship in his and his to be a thriving enterprise,” he says. wife’s names. 12 Thriving it is, with 20 full-time faculty, the graduate program tied for It was support from the university’s No. 12 in the 2013 U.S. News & 115 graduate students and about 400 administration, many faculty and members of World Report rankings undergraduate students, or about one-third the Board of Trustees and the opportunity to of the school’s total undergraduate students. build a department from the ground up that It also boasts more than 1,000 alumni and brought Yin to the university in 1997 from nearly $13 million in research funding in fiscal Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. year 2012, or about 50 percent of the school’s “It took a leap of faith to decide to come total research expenditures. here,” Yin says. “However, with the breadth What makes the department different and depth of commitment that was clearly from others around the country is its evident, I thought this was a once-in-a- extensive interactions with the School of lifetime opportunity to make a difference, Uncas A. Whitaker Hall Medicine as well as its focus on cutting-edge so I took the plunge.” areas, Yin says. And many are glad he did. “We have a world-class medical school “I am personally grateful for the across the park, and it would be foolish not enormous contributions of Frank Yin,” says to take maximal advantage of that,” he says. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “Washington “This interaction really helps our students by University has long been regarded as an providing them access to a tremendous pool institution of great strength in the sciences. of talented mentors. That close connection Clockwise from top: Yin with his wife, Grace, Camilla and Stephen F. Brauer at Our biomedical engineering department also sets the tone for our multitude of his professorship installation; Yin with 2012 biomedical engineering graduates; has flourished over the past 15 years under educational and research partnerships and Yin gets a pie in the face during EnWeek; Yin testing out a student project at the Frank Yin with doctoral BME senior design poster presentation; Yin with students in China Frank’s leadership and is today regarded as alumna Sara Smith Taylor collaborations that exist.”
30 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 31 special feature
Yin has received accolades from others rankings,” says Sutera, who also headed the for his accomplishments as well. search committee. the last word: Ralph Quatrano, PhD, dean of the School Sutera also called on Yin years later. of Engineering & Applied Science, says he and “While I was serving as interim dean of Yin came to the university at about the same SEAS, I was able to count again on Frank Yin’s time — Yin as chair of biomedical engineering experienced leadership and management Legacy and Quatrano as chair of biology in Arts & skills to help me deal with the school’s diverse Sciences. The two thought very similarly and growing departments,” Sutera says. Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Washington University Yin’s research encompasses on many research topics and teaching in During his tenure in St. Louis, Yin has is a living legacy composed of several different elements. soft tissue biomechanics, cell the basic biological and biomedical fields, made personal connections as well. He and mechanics and hemodynamics First is its home — the superb, state-of-the-art teaching worked closely within the Division of Biology his wife, Grace, have become close friends and research facilities in the Uncas A. Whitaker and Stephen & Biomedical Sciences and showed how two “He was the perfect with Lucy Lopata, widow of Stanley Lopata, F. & Camilla T. Brauer halls. Second is its administrative programs in two different schools can work a longtime friend of the university and the structure. It is not only the newest department in fit: as an MD- together in developing curriculum and in hiring School of Engineering & Applied Science. the university, going from no students in 1997 to 400 faculty that complemented each other. PhD, an excellent “Frank and Grace came here when my undergraduate students and 115 doctoral students in 2013, “I have admired Frank for his focus teacher and active husband was still very active as a trustee, but also an exemplar of “interdisciplinarity” because of on quality at all levels of the teaching and researcher, he and I really fell in love with both of them,” its extensive ties to our world-class School of Medicine. research enterprise and his dedication filled the bill as a Lucy Lopata says. “At that time, his wife said Third is its financial underpinning, which will ensure to build a quality program that has set to me, ‘I really don’t know anyone in St. Louis.’ dual citizen of the its sustainability. As important as these elements are, a standard to be emulated across the And I told her that I would adopt her as my however, the fourth — the outstanding faculty, students and university,” Quatrano says. “He has been a engineering and Chinese daughter. That’s how the friendship staff — is the most crucial. Without them, the others would terrific colleague and leader for the last 15 medical communities started, and we’ve been friends ever since.” be merely symbols without real impact. It is these people years, and I look forward to his continuing of Washington He also has become good friends with who make this living entity a true success — one that is service to Engineering, the university and to University.” other supporters of the school, including well-poised and ready to further expand and adapt to meet our friendship.” Jerry and Rosalie Brasch, Hank and Gini the myriad challenges in the years and decades ahead. — Former dean Sal Sutera, PhD William A. Peck, MD, who was dean of Schreimann and Stephen and Camilla Brauer. Much has been done by many over the past 15-plus the School of Medicine when Yin came to “He was instrumental in attracting the years to create this legacy. It started with a vision by WUSTL and is now the Alan A. and Edith L. Whitaker grant. He made all the difference members of the School of Engineering & Applied Science’s Wolff Distinguished Professor, says Yin is an leading biomedical engineering,” Brauer says. National Council; strong commitments by Chancellor extremely talented biomedical engineer. And when the Yins came to St. Louis, they Mark Wrighton and other university leaders, including the “We wanted to recruit the best, and we were reunited with his godparents, William deans of both the engineering and medical schools; and got the best,” Peck says. “He did a fabulous Tao, a 1950 graduate of the university and enthusiastic support from senior faculty in both schools. job in building the department and has been longtime teacher, and his wife, Anne. William These, together with transformative commitments very effective in interacting with the other Tao is also the founder and head of William from the Whitaker and Danforth Foundations, as well as components of the university, including Tao and Associates, Consulting Engineers. numerous friends and alumni of the university, were key medicine and its faculty. We appreciate 1945: Frank Yin with his Yin says he has mixed feelings about enablers. The trust and faith of the faculty and students that the enhancement of biomedical godfather, William Tao leaving his post. He says he will most miss who committed to join and help build the enterprise in engineering enriches the medical and being able to recruit and guide new talent, its early years were the final, critical pieces needed to engineering schools.” “Frank was but will greatly enjoy watching the careers of ensure success. To all of them, I owe my sincerest and most Sal Sutera, PhD, who was acting chair transformative those he recruited continue to blossom. profound thanks for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. of the department before Yin’s arrival and “I think the department is in terrific The department is in an excellent position to make great when he was hired, is immediate past dean, said the university shape,” he says. “It is mature, has great strides to advance basic science with the hope of improving was extremely fortunate to attract Yin from and biomedical faculty and students, has wonderful the diagnoses and treatment of human diseases. Johns Hopkins. engineering really physical facilities, has impact nationally and “Under his leadership, the new did not catch on until internationally, and still has room to grow. department was quickly populated with Frank arrived in This is the right time to hand it to somebody outstanding young and mid-career faculty who wants to take this opportunity and who were able to build strong bridges of St. Louis.” create or input his or her own vision into Written by frank yin, md, phd collaborative research and earn high national — Stephen F. Brauer the department.”
ron klein
32 Engineering Momentum > engineering.wustl.edu spring 2013 > Engineering Momentum 33 non-profit org. u.s. postage paid st. louis, mo School of Engineering & Applied Science permit no. 2535 Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1163 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
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surprise visitor Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square, made a guest appearance in Patrick Crowley’s computer science class on Friday, April 5.
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